Heart and Soul
by Nature9000
Summary: After learning that Dante will only kill them when she's satisfied her own plans, Pride and Sloth try to escape in hopes of finding a way to take control of their own lives. Now hunted by the ones that used to consider them friends, they must fight for survival. In a world where hope is fleeting, can they rise above against all odds, or be erased as though they never existed?
1. Good and Evil is a Choice

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: This is a relatively new idea I had here. This is in line with the first anime. I got this idea from watching the series and seeing how the homunculi are capable of emotion at the least. I'm not going to blather on here, so just enjoy the story ^_^.

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Chapter 1 (Good and Evil is a Choice)

Juliet Douglas, also known by the other homunculi as Sloth, sat alone in the Fuhrer's office. The office was grandiose with a fireplace next to a black couch and two recliner chairs of the same color. The red carpeting matched the red oak color of the desk she was at. Her desk was several paces from the Fuhrer's much larger desk. The Fuhrer was known also by their friends as Pride. He was currently at his mansion for lunch. She opted to stay in the office with whatever food she could grab from the cafeteria.

For reasons beyond the knowledge of their coworkers, they referred to each other by their alias names both in public and in private. Even still, taking the name of a previously dead person made things a little hectic. Mostly for her, considering she would get phone calls in the office from soldiers _and_ civilians that knew the real Juliet.

Acting upon the pained growls in her stomach, she eyeballed the wrapped chicken hamburger on her desk. She lifted up and glanced about the office with growing curiosity aroused suspicion. Almost any time she got a moment to herself, one of the homunculi or Dante herself would come calling.

Seeing that it didn't appear to be the case, she immediately tore the wrapper from the mouthwatering burger. She wasn't always a fan of chicken sandwiches and she hated fish, but this was a rare occasion in which the café ran out of beef. The chicken was large and scrumptious, like a bed full of lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and pickles. The meat and veggies were enclosed by warm sesame seed buns. _"I am about to turn into Gluttony here…If I start eating and get interrupted, I'm not going to be happy." _

Sloth brought the food to her mouth and took a large bite. The flavors gushed over her taste buds, creating a creamy and cool sensation that trailed down her throat. She closed her eyes and moaned in contentment as the food settled into her stomach. "Oh god that is so good…"

"Damn Sloth, are you hungry or aroused?" Lust's voice rang in her ear, startling her. She jerked up from her chair and spun to the window, groaning at the raven haired woman sitting in the window. The woman's lips were curved into a smirk and her eyebrows were raised high. "I haven't even heard Gluttony make that kind of sound while eating."

Embarrassed, she threw the sandwich on the desk and crossed her arms. "Shut up." She narrowed her eyes on Lust. "What do you want?" Lust held up her hands defensively and pushed off from the windowsill.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see what you were up to. It's a slow day. Dante's off doing god knows what, I'm not satisfied with Envy this morning, and the other homunculi are busy."

"Well I'm eating. So unless you have any urgent news…let me eat in peace!" She turned back to the desk and reached for the sandwich, hesitating for a brief moment. "What do you mean Envy's not satisfying you? You're not-"

"No! It's just that he's been wrecking my place all morning because I was asleep." Lust narrowed her eyes, her lips flattened and her voice lowered to a grumbling tone. "In other words, he sent Wrath into my house…and told the poor shit that I didn't like his 'mother'…" Sloth covered her growing smirk and grabbed the hamburger up.

"So Envy was bored, used Wrath to wake you up, and now you're here because I assume you had an argument with him?"

"Sounds about right. Envy's bored, I'm bored…I mean hell, even those Elric brothers aren't doing anything remotely interesting!" Lust moved to Pride's desk and sat on the edge. She leaned back onto her palms and gazed down at a photo on his desk. "Pride's with his 'family'?"

"Yeah." It wasn't his real family, but Pride still cared somewhat for them. It didn't help that they were only used for Dante's purposes. Since she gave Pride the power he held, the status, she also had to give him a mansion. All of the homunculi had a home base they stayed at, but usually it was a small apartment or incredibly small house. Since Sloth was given the position as Pride's secretary, she had the biggest house, although it was no mansion. Pride was the only one given a family, and they could be so easily taken away.

"Seems like the others would rather him not spend time with them. I guess he cares a lot for them."

"He does it to keep up appearances." That was part of the truth. While he cared for them, it wasn't a genuine love. She often talked with him about the situation, asking why he didn't have that genuine feeling. Usually she was met with an answer regarding how useless it would be to pretend to care for someone or something that Dante had given. "Aside from some care, that family is meaningless to him. Even his fake wife hardly gives him the time of day."

"But he does care, somewhat?"

"Yeah, strange isn't it? I mean it's said we're not supposed to have souls, but we still care…" She took another bite of her hamburger and took some time to chew it before swallowing it down. Lust tilted her head as Sloth stared down at the sandwich. "You have your memories that you tell me about, I know I tell you about the memories I have of the person I was created from…and the emotions they come with. Pride himself cares a little for his made up family. If we're supposed to be soulless, then why do we have these feelings?"

"I wouldn't know, to be honest. Love, hate, jealousy, anger, joy, sorrow…we can feel these things. To be honest…" Lust pushed herself from the desk and started walking towards Sloth, smiling into her eyes. "We were created with a heart. Even though we're not supposed to be human, those emotions are there. I'm willing to bet there is a part of us each that's human, we're just more ignorant to those human emotions. I think the older we become the more inhuman we seem."

"Well." She chuckled and looked up from the sandwich. "Envy's almost four hundred years old and he's almost like a demon. He still has some emotion, but he's pretty hardened to them."

"Ever think maybe it's not age, it's just the mental state?"

"Maybe." Lust started for the window and raised her hand up to the wall beside it. She looked over her shoulder, giving Sloth a look of concern. "So why all the talk of emotions anyway? Is something up?"

"No. Nothing at all." She knew better than to admit to what Dante termed a sign of weakness. Lust was normal to talk to about that sort of stuff without worry since Lust herself had to deal with her own issue of memories and emotions. Even her, however, Sloth wanted to stay on the safe side.

"Good, I guess. Just…try not to let Dante hear you talking like that. She'd skin you alive. Not to mention, I don't think you'd want to wind up locked up like Greed was." Lust looked back out the window, narrowing her eyes. "A thought, however…"

"What?"

"I don't believe in souls, really. Spirits sure. My thinking is this: If souls, or spirits, exist, then everything that lives and breathes has one. In which case, you and I have every bit of a soul as someone like the Elric brothers. The trick to wanting to become human, as Dante is promising, isn't so much gaining a soul as it is releasing one."

"Releasing?" She was baffled by Lust's terminology. How could someone release a soul to become human? "I don't understand."

"Simple, really. Why do you think soul binding is almost as bad as human transmutation? Or, better yet, why do you think we have the memories of the person we were based from?" Lust turned around and sat on windowsill. Her forehead creased as her eyebrows meshed together. "We have a body similar to that person, almost like we could be twins. If every living, breathing thing has a soul, that means we have our own soul. While at the same time, human transmutation has bound the person's soul into us. Dante tells us she's planning on making us human, and in order to do so, she needs to free the prior soul from our bodies. Unfortunately we'll probably still retain the appearance, but, I guess that's the price we pay for being the product of a human transmutation."

"So what are you saying?"

"That if we ever want to be human, it's going to require letting the soul trapped with us go. That's either by way of death or the Philosopher's Stone. Not to mention, the only reason memories are awakened is because that soul is becoming conscious somehow and I think it could be fighting for dominance. Not sure."

"How do you know all of this, anyway?"

"Surprisingly, from Greed. Another thing I'll leave you to think on. We are not inherently evil. Nobody is ever inherently evil." She held her breath, startled by the realization. She'd never quite thought of it that way before. Dante would consider such words blasphemy. "When you were born, Sloth. You did not have a single evil thought in your head. Someone put it there."

"Dante…"

"Correct."

"But if we're not evil, then what…I don't understand."

"Think about it." Sloth looked over to Lust and furrowed her brow as the woman started to lean out the window. "First, what was Wrath like before Envy discovered him? Shy, confused, scared, _innocent._ Much like the child he is. After Envy found him and fed him the words he did, Wrath believed him only because he wasn't thinking for himself. At birth we all needed someone to lead us, someone to tell us what was going on, to 'free' us. Dante did that and we believed her because we had no one else. Wrath has a childlike mind, he'll believe what anyone of authority says."

"True." With that, Lust was gone. She hated how the woman chose to make an entrance. Sloth took another bite of her sandwich and mumbled at the window. "Next time, use the door would you?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Pride said from behind, jolting her from her sense of calm. She faced him with a growl, eyeing his smirk. "Sorry, did I spook you."

"Why is it everyone feels the need to sneak up on me? It isn't that easy, is it?!"

"Bad mood? Or are you just trying to process what Lust said to you?" How much had he heard? He removed his black jacket and threw it on the chair next to his desk. "She has a point. I don't know what the use of saying all that is, considering there's nothing really to do about it. She's right, good or bad, it's all about choice. We chose to follow Dante because she was the first person there for us. Whether or not we agree with her purposes…"

"Do you ever question them, Bradley?"

He lifted his eyes up, staring at her as if she had something on her face. "What kind of question is that?" She knew he questioned Dante's motives and reasoning, but if they voiced it, Dante would possibly kill them. They spoke enough of her methods to know they had questions about them. Dante was a suspicious and conniving woman, and the way she manipulated regular people left them wondering if she was manipulating the homunculi as well. "She's got some sort of schizophrenic disorder or something, there's no rationalizing with her. You know that as well as I do, Juliet. Try to ask her why she's doing something, and she'd sooner cut our heads off."

"True. We can't act for ourselves, but do you ever wonder…" He took his seat and folded his hands over his desk. A warm smile formed beneath his moustache and his eyes glistened under the office light.

"All the time, Juliet. It's enough I get harped on for seeing the fake family Dante gave me.. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I just told her to screw off and let me do what I want, but by that regard-"

"It's unwise." Pride frowned and looked to the papers under his hands. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Precisely. So we do whatever Dante wants so she'll make us human. Sometimes I wonder, and I know you do, if we're just pawns in her game. Our only purpose is to make the philosopher's stone and nothing else. Does she really intend to make us human, or would she simply kill us off the minute she's done with us?" She gasped and fear stabbed her heart as she thought of such an ultimatum.

"You don't think she would actually do that-do you?"

"I don't know. All I know are, there are reasons she doesn't like for us to think for ourselves or to display any kind of emotion. That's why all that talking Lust just did, Dante would kill her for. You and Lust are fortunate, or I'd say all three of us are fortunate, Dante has given us some semblance of privacy in this office."

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Well I hope you think it's a nice sounding idea and will leave some comments as the story goes along. Let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!


	2. Seed of Doubt

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series.

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Chapter 2 (Seed of Doubt)

"Why in the hell have you dragged me here, Juliet?" Pride mumbled as Sloth went through a clothing stand. They were in the Central Mall, going through almost every store they had. "God only knows how many clothes and shoes you have stuck in your closet…"

"Oh quit your griping." She mocked his bored expression. He hung his elbow over a nearby countertop and steadied his hand over his face. She had an insatiable appetite for clothing and shoes. Not to mention, if she saw something she liked and could afford it, she would buy it. She could afford to be high maintenance. "We'll take you to the nearest hardware store after this."

"The mall has about twenty clothing shops, five shoe shops, eight random shops, and fifteen restaurants in the food court. Maybe four or five jewelry stores. The one thing there _isn't_ here is a hardware store!"

"Then why did you come along?"

"You asked me to!" She loved forcing him to come with her to the mall and making him pay for her items. Not only did she enjoy his reactions, she had quite a bit of fun dragging his macho ass into a bra store. Whenever he acted too tough and manly, she'd cut his masculine ego down a notch by doing pushing him into as many feminine shops as she could. "I swear Jules, you-" She cut him off by holding a pink shirt in front of him.

"I wonder if they have this in men sizes." He twitched and stammered. She laughed blissfully and tore the shirt away from him, hanging it back up on the rack. "I know, I know, you hate pink. I'm not a big fan of pink either."

"You're having too much fun with this, and I am going to walk out of this store now. Too many women here are giving me the ugly eye." She rolled her eyes as Pride nonchalantly waved at two passing women. "Not to mention, they're seeing the married Fuhrer out shopping with his secretary. Do the math. Even if the woman I'm supposed to be with doesn't care, I'm pretty sure the public does…"

"Well they can shove it up their asses if they want. It's not like I have anyone else to go shopping with me!"

He grumbled and lowered his head. "Take Lust." Sloth froze, coughing at the suggestion. She tried to take Lust once, but when the shop owner said she didn't have enough money for a dress she wanted, the claws came out. Literally. She chuckled nervously and glanced up at him, flashing a smile.

"Lust is kind of banned from the mall now."

"Oh. Perfect. I don't want to know…" It was better that he didn't, Lust came dangerously close to killing the cashier. "We don't get enough time to ourselves these days, it's a miracle we even have this moment here. You spend it by dragging us into a mall because Lust was stupid enough to get banned. Great." She could hear muttering behind them. Pride looked back to see two elderly women talking about how he was out with a woman that didn't look anything like Mrs. Bradley. He scowled at the two and shooed them. "I don't need you judging the people I choose to spend my time with!"

Deciding she'd had enough of this conversation, and annoyed by the looks she was getting from some of the women in the shop, she decided to put any clothing back on the shelves and leave the store. "Bradley, have you given any thought as to who might replace you if something were to happen?"

"What makes you think anything were to happen?"

"I don't know, I just wonder, with how close the Elric brothers are getting to everything. Dante just changed her body and it's decomposing so quickly she wants to take out this town, Lior. Greed already put doubts in Lust's head." No doubt he would have placed that seed in some of the others if he'd managed to survive Ed's attack. The seed of doubt was already planted into hers. "If the Elrics, or even Colonel Mustang figure things out…and you were to be discovered as a homunculus. Who do you think would replace you?"

"Mustang has coveted my position for a while now, but I don't know that he's old enough. I think they'd wind up appointing General Grumman, since he's the next in rank. Enough of this doom and gloom talk, though. It's not befitting for you, Juliet." Her cheeks flared up. She closed her eyes and exhaled. She could feel him studying her, his gaze was burrowing into her. "What's going on with you lately, Juliet? You've been upset lately, I can tell."

"It's nothing, really. Just doing some thinking, I guess."

"You've thought about what Lust said earlier?"

"A bit, but even more so, it's these memories. I know the Elric brothers, they were the sons of Tricia. You know. My person…I want my own memories, my own _life_." It was something she coveted for herself, among other things. She dared not speak her desires in front of Dante, for she did not wish to die anytime soon. Pride stepped up beside her, reassuring her with a smile. "I want to be a mother, Bradley. I do, just…I know I can't be _their_ mother. I wouldn't even ask to be."

"I'm not even sure homunculi can have kids, Juliet."

"I know, but there's so much that I want in this world. I can't have any of it."

"Why? Why can't you have it?"

"The same reason Greed was denied a life. Dante wants us to serve her and her purposes." She was sure of it, but there wasn't any real proof of it aside from Lust's suspicions and the things that Greed allegedly said. "If I could find it, I'd be happy. A life, a family, love…eternity? I don't care for eternal life. I just want happiness, like you want a real family."

He started to chuckle, curling his finger beneath his chin. "You think I want-"

"You can't hide that." He frowned as she faced him and looked into his eye. She raised a hand and gently touched his eyepatch. "Just like you tell me you'd like a real eye in place of what you have. You see your family every day, even though they're fake. You spend time with them for possibly hours, and you expect me to believe you don't want the real thing? You expect me to believe you don't want a wife that looks at you lovingly and a child that you don't have to feel guilty over raising as your own? I know you too well for that, Brad."

"Okay maybe so." He coughed into his hand, then locked his wrists behind his back. "How do you think we'd go about all these things that we may _want_. Dante's not going to give us what we want until she's satisfied her own desires. Even then, how do we know she's planning on fulfilling our wishes?"

"I don't know. Who is there to trust? I mean, Lust and I might be friendly, but I don't know how much I can even trust _her_."

"You can trust me."

"That's about it, isn't it. Can't trust anyone else." She looked to a nearby department store as they passed it. She let out a light scoff and crossed her arms. "Yet you wonder why I drag you out here."

"I'm sorry, Jules." She lifted her shoulders and winced at a sharp cramping inside her abdomen.

"As for whether or not we can have children, I don't see why not. I still have a menstrual cycle."

"I don't think I needed to know that information."

"Well now you do." It was like a cruel twist of fate, having to endure such pain each month yet it was all for nothing. Allegedly. "I'm sick of waiting too. How many philosopher's stones has Dante made in all the years she's been alive?"

"I'm not sure."

"Has any been made for something other than selfish gain?"

"Again, not sure, and I'm pretty sure I can't ask her." Perhaps there was another way to find out. Envy was the oldest of all of them, so maybe he knew the truth. He had to know something, but if they asked him, could it work? "Not like we can just walk up to her and ask, I am pretty sure that would be impossible."

"What about Envy? I mean, _maybe_ there's a chance-"

"How willing are you to die?" His words stung her, but with them was a grain of truth. "If we even think to ask Envy…" She groaned softly, feeling a sense of dread and hopelessness rising up inside. He put his hands on her upper arms and she lifted her gaze to his. "I'm sorry I worded it like that. I just-I want you to be careful before you go off trying to figure this stuff out. You know Envy's closest to Dante, if he even suspects a grain of thought towards tyranny, he'll go running straight for her."

Her brows meshed together, she whined in defeat and pounded her foot once on the ground. "So what, it's better we just do nothing?" Patience wasn't a virtue of hers anymore, though she wasn't sure if it really ever was. Studying his eyes, she was wrought with confusion. "How can you be so damn calm?"

"Not easily. I understand where you're coming from, and it's not better to do nothing. I don't want to see you hurt, Juliet, that's all."

"I think I can handle myself just fine."

He winced and looked away for a second. "You know I don't mean it like that. I'm only saying, I don't want something to happen to you, that's it. I can't trust Envy around you, can't trust Dante or any of the others. Even Lust, whether or not she seems to be having the same questions we are."

"You're just concerned?"

"Yeah." He took his hands away and rubbed the back of his neck, heaving forth a heavy sigh. "I care about you, all right? That's…a lot more than I can say for anyone." Her heart jumped up to her throat and her lips turned up into a smile. He lowered his arm and started walking towards the doors of the mall. Sloth hurried after him. "I'm only saying don't do something that could be dangerous. If you're really wanting to know all this, find another way to figure out the truth. Don't do something stupid."

"This world is filled with successful people who made a start by doing something stupid, Brad."

"That is _not_ what I mean and you know it!" She snickered at him and hurried out the doors. While she was grateful for his concern, she wasn't sure how well she could resist the temptation in finding the truth.

She turned around and began moving backwards, watching him push open the door and follow after him. She studied his magnificent and broad shoulders, hidden beneath the loose brown shirt hanging over his muscular body. It was tempting as well to run up and wrap her arms around him, but she knew that would never be acceptable in public.

"What would you do anyway, Juliet? If we knew the truth, what would it matter? Could we even hide or escape? I'm not even sure knowing the truth would help us achieve anything we could possibly want."

"Maybe you just lack the motivation or drive to find out, is that it?"

"That is not it at all." He raised an eyebrow at her and scoffed. "I just don't see a positive end to all of this questioning we're doing."

"Think for yourself and maybe you'll find one. Right? I mean good things don't happen to people who sit around and do nothing…"

"Good things also don't happen for the abrupt, Jules."

"You don't know that for a fact. Like Lust says…maybe we should think about it. If we find a way to figure out if Dante's telling the truth or leading us astray, then maybe you and I could-"

"Could what? Run off together?" Double lines formed over his forehead and his lips thinned. Sloth bowed her head and turned away, brokenhearted by his abrupt statement. She held back the anger she felt towards his words the best she could.

"Whatever. I just wanted to know for sure, that's _all_. If you're perfectly content with just sitting around, fine. That's what I'll do."

"Juliet. I-"

"I'm done with this talk, _Pride." _He winced as she stormed off. They typically only called each other by their homunculus name when mad at each other. She turned her head over her shoulder, laughing lightly. "You know what? That's a better name for you than I thought! I didn't see it before. Fits you perfectly."

"Come on."

"I'll see you at the office..." With that, she turned a corner into a desolate alley where no one could see her. Sloth transformed into her watery figure and sank into the ground just as Pride came rounding the corner. She slipped away, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

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Hopefully there's someone out there that's enjoying this and giving it a chance. It's going to have a bit of adventure. Just let me know your thoughts. If there's anything I can improve. Yeah, I know it's not the typical FMA fanfiction, but that doesn't mean it's not good


	3. The Truth

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series.

A/N: I'm uploading early for this authornote. I wanted to comment on a discrepancy through the last chapter. I put a mall due to my possible misassumption that there could be one. I consider a mall a series of shops, so it's very likely a shopping center, central plaza, or even a merchant town would be a likelier candidate. This is NOT an AU, just to make certain everyone understands that. Without further ado, enjoy chapter 3

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Chapter 3 (The Truth)

That night, Pride lay in bed thinking on what Sloth said to him earlier. He couldn't get past the feeling of guilt he had over putting that angry and hurt look on her face. All these years, he'd been the one to look out for her and to care about her when she needed someone, and he essentially told her to suck it up. Hell, he didn't even believe in that advice himself.

He looked to the other side of the bedroom and saw his fake wife curled up on her own twin bed. It wasn't hard to imagine why they didn't sleep together when they didn't have a real relationship. The closest thing to a relationship he had was with Sloth. When it came to what was between them, there truly wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her. _"I just don't want her going to Envy and getting herself hurt…"_

The end table between the beds had a small alarm clock showing the time stuck at 9:15. It was early to be going to bed, even for him. Usually he didn't leave the office until 10, but this time around he hadn't even gone back to the office, he came straight home to this family. Only was unable to focus on Mrs. Bradley or Selim when Sloth's face haunted him.

His hands moved to rest beneath his head and his eyes gazed up at the ceiling above him. The eyepatch he normally wore was on the end table beside the clock, it was never something to wear to bed. _"She just wants to know, and so do I. Just how do we figure it out…"_

Pride sat up in the bed and rubbed his face, groaning softly. The clock beside him now displayed 9:20. He never had this much trouble sleeping before. "Elena. Elena are you asleep?" The woman rolled over and glared at him, answering in a monotone voice.

"I was. What do you need?"

"Sorry for waking you, I'm just trying to figure something out." Elena threw her covers off and sat up, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed. He honestly did feel bad for waking her, which was a surprise to him. At the same time, he wasn't too surprised that he actually cared whether or not he was impolite.

"What is the issue? Is it something to do with Juliet?"

"Sort of, but not quite." Elena knew the truth about the homunculi, and out of respect for him, he referred to Sloth as her alias. She was the one who encouraged him to spend time with her, considering he often spoke of her. "She wants to have a life, to have a family. We need to know if Dante's telling the truth and leading us down the right road or not, but don't know how to figure it out. If Dante knows that we're even remotely questioning her methods, she'll kill us…or at least those close to us." Another fear of his was throwing both Elena and Selim in danger. "In my gut I feel like Dante is leading us down the wrong path, that she'll just kill us all once she's done."

Elena stretched her arms out, yawning loudly. "So find out. I know it sounds simpler than it is-"

"The one that would know the truth is Envy, but if he suspects anything…"

"Figure something out. You once said Envy had a thing with alcohol, so get him drunk. Everyone knows a drunk man can spill his guts and forget." Pride grinned at the thought of Envy drunk. It was a long shot, but it would work. "If it's for Juliet, don't you think it's worth it? I mean maybe it's crazy, maybe it's stupid, but if you have to find out, then there's nothing more that needs to be said. Are you prepared for the consequences? Do you know what you'd have to do if you found out Dante was lying?"

"Consequences? Yeah." He'd have to run, or at the very least, convince Dante he wasn't planning to usurp her. If Sloth were thrown in danger, then yes, he would run. "I'm not going to let something happen to Juliet, that's for sure." Elena gave him a subtle smile and nodded towards him.

"If you love her, you'll do anything for her."

"Love? You're implying-"

"Just because you were created through an alchemist's sin doesn't mean you don't have a heart. You light up when you're talking about her. Do what you have to do to make her happy. I hardly care about myself. You're not my husband, you're not Selim's father."

"That doesn't mean I don't care about you two."

"At least a part of you does, but you're not happy. I'm not too stupid to see that. Do you suppose Envy may be awake at this hour?"

Pride laughed, he was amazed at the suggestion that Envy would be anywhere near sleep. "At this hour? He's probably at his favorite bar, to be honest." Elena smiled knowingly and motioned to the door. "What?" His eyes widened and he moved his hands to his chest. "You honestly think I'm going to go asking Envy what Dante's plans are? Seriously?"

"What does Juliet want?"

"Truth…"

"What do you want?"

"The same thing, but-"

"So find out. If Dante is real, then you're fine. If she's not…well, you've still got free will. You're free to do what you like." Elena moved back onto her back, exhaling softly. "Look at it this way. Your Juliet wants to live her own life, whether it's a sudden decision of hers or not, you have to think: If you truly care for her, is the life she's living now what you want for her?"

"No."

"And why not?"

"We live in fear that if we so much as look the wrong way, Dante could wipe us out if she really wanted to. Juliet doesn't need to live in that kind of fear for her life."

"Then you have your answer." She rolled onto her side with her back towards him. He ran his hand through his hair, sighing as he took another look at the clock. 9:30. Unlike him, Sloth rarely went to bed this early, but given their earlier exchange she probably was.

"Just when I thought I'd pushed it all away…" He rose to his feet and grabbed the patch off the table, muttering to himself. "Stupid. This is stupid…"

Close to 10:00, Pride entered Envy's favorite pub. The air was heavy with cigarette smoke. The bar was in the back of the building, glasses hung from above while customers filled every seat. Between him and the bar were several tables, each filled to the brim. As he scanned the area, he caught a glimpse of Envy in a table off to the corner. The man had a full glass of beer sitting beside his hands. Envy's eyes seemed fixated on his fingers

"Envy!" He put on an enthusiastic tone as he sat in the booth across from the homunculus. Envy raised an eyebrow at him and sipped his drink.

"What do you want? I've never seen you seek me out."

"Just a little friendly conversation, that's all." In his mind he kept replaying the thoughts of this being for Sloth. If he did that, it made the matter seem much less harrowing than it actually was. "How many have you had?" Envy peered at his drink and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's my third."

"Rough day?"

"You might say that." He nodded and glimpsed at some passing servers. "So you came here for conversation? Really now…"

"Sure." He could benefit from the alcohol already in Envy's system. Mixing wasn't always the best idea for people not wanting to get drunk. Fortunately for him, he wasn't going to be getting drunk. "Actually, since you seem down, maybe I could help raise your spirits up some." He raised his hand up for a server and snapped his fingers. Envy stared with skepticism as one of the serves walked over with a notepad. "I want a couple double shots of your finest vodka, for my friend here! Keep the shots coming, too!" Vodka, perhaps the most potent of the types of alcohol.

Envy's eyes widened and Pride reassured him with a pleasant smile. "What in the hell are you doing, Pride?"

"I'm thinking we could play a drinking game." As much as Envy could potentially control himself, which meant there was the possibility of Envy turning down any extra drinks, Pride knew the man couldn't resist a challenge. "A wager too, if you will."

"Wagering? Drinks? What are you up to really, Pride? Come on."

"Nothing, just a lighthearted moment between two…friends."

"We're not _friends_." Envy crossed his arms and muttered as the waiter brought two shot glasses to the table and a large bottle of Absolut. Envy's jaw fell and Pride smoothly reached for the bottle. "Jesus Pride…"

"A challenge. A little birdie told me you cannot hold your liquor. I don't know what you're doing at a bar if you can't stomach a few drinks."

Envy slapped the table and his eyes flickered with irritation. "What? Who told you that! Lust? What does she know? She's the one that can't hold her liquor!"

"Oh?" Pride then uncapped the bottle and poured the vodka into the shot glasses. "Then prove to me that she's lying."

"She's a lying skank, that's what she is." He swiped the first shot glass and immediately downed it. Envy gasped for a second and growled as he grabbed for the second glass.

After several minutes passed, and the vodka was near empty, Envy was clearly drunk. His face was red and he was swaying around his in seat, holding onto his abdomen. "Oh god. Pride? Pride! Is the room spinning man? The room, it's fucking spinning!"

"Oh it's all right. You'll be fine, Envy. I can't promise you won't have a nasty hangover in the morning." He had his own glass of beer now, but had not taken any of the vodka. He was never much of a drinker. "I think you're done though, you've definitely shown me that Lust was wrong. You can definitely hold your liquor."

"I can do anything! I'm fuckin' invincible! _Invincible!"_ Envy started laughing and began to fall over in his seat. Pride reached over, grabbing his shoulder and pushing him up. Envy grabbed his head and hunched over the table, _weeping_, of all things. Pride was baffled, and a bit disturbed by this action. Envy let out a painful cry, his body trembling as he did so. "Oh god Pride, my head hurts so much. My stomach is in knots. God I'm so miserable! My own bastard father abandoned us, my mother doesn't give a shit about me. She made me into a homunculus and she doesn't care!"

"Dante?" He leaned back and grabbed his beer. His hand trembled as the realization came to him. "Dante was your mother?"

"Yes! Dante and Hoenheim of light. They did a human transmutation, then he left us. Ever since, Dante's been hopping from body to body."

"Body swapping. That's something the philosopher's stone can do, right?" He lifted the glass to his lips, taking a quick sip. How old was Dante, really? He already knew about the body swapping, this was no secret. However, he hardly remembered her ever with a man named Hoenheim. "Hoenheim? Must be before my time."

"Four hundred years." Envy hiccupped and grabbed for the vodka, but Pride quickly swept it away from him. "More please! It's the only thing that can make my head stop _pounding!"_

"I'll give you more if you can tell me something." Envy sniffed and looked up to him with an angry glare.

"I hate you. You're an asshole just like Hoenheim."

"Oh come on, I know you don't mean it."

"No I do! You're just a puppet, that's it!" He meshed his brows together and jolted back in shock. _Puppet?_ What did Envy mean by that?

"Puppet? So wait, is Dante going to be making us all human?" Envy straightened himself up and raised an eyebrow. His body continued to shake violently and sweat drenched his hair and clothes.

"That's what you want to know? Is Dante planning to make you human? It is possible, but no. She just wants us all for creation of the philosopher's stone." His heart sank and he winced. "She only wants to find a permanent way to stop her decaying body. Eternal life, it's a bitch really. She doesn't care about any of you, only out for herself."

"So what is Dante planning to do with us when she's done?" Envy threw his arms on the table and dropped his head onto them, groaning in pain. Pride quickly poured extra vodka into the shot glasses. He was so overcome with nerves that his hand was trembling and spilling some of the alcohol out onto the table. Envy shot up, laughing uncontrollably.

"Now you look drunk!" Envy reached over and grabbed his shirt. Pride looked into the man's deadly gaze and froze up on the spot. He gently set the bottle on the table and tried to lean back. Envy spoke, slurring his words together. "Once you've served your purpose, all of you, she's going to get rid of you. Dead, every last one of you. She's already got methods for tearing you all apart. The great assassination of the Fuhrer Bradley, turning the watery Sloth into gas and burning her. Then there's Lust, Gluttony, and that pathetic gnat, Wrath…"

"You can't be serious."

"Oh I'm being deathly serious. But still, what is it to you? You didn't think your life was your own, did you? You know, you are spending a lot of time with that family of yours…I'm starting to wonder if you're getting a little complacent."

"What? Of course not." He chuckled nervously as Envy tried to stand up. The drunken man stumbled over his feet and fell towards the floor, groaning as he curled into a ball.

"Oh god I'm dying, Pride. I'm dying!"

"You'll be fine, Envy…" He rolled his eyes and left the booth. Pride lifted Envy up and threw him over his shoulder. "I'll get you home or wherever it is you're going to. Just, if you feel the urge to vomit, vomit the other way."

As he carried Envy out the door, he let his thoughts batter him. He couldn't imagine what was going to happen to him once Dante was done with her plans. It was one thing to say the truth was she wasn't planning on making any of them human, but the fact remained that she was just going to slaughter them all? He was beside himself with grief. Much to his own horror, he now couldn't get the thought of Dante killing Sloth out of his head.

He couldn't let that happen. "I have to do something," he muttered. Envy opened one eye. Pride rubbed his forehead, groaning as his own stomach knotted up. "I don't want to die, but then…" Sloth was more important to him, which was not so stunning of a surprise for him at this point. He couldn't stand to see something happen to her, and with that being said, knew exactly what he needed to do.

Envy startled him by letting out another loud groan, "Pride, take me home man. My apartment. It's around the corner from here. Oh god." Pride took a deep breath and shook his head.

"All right, just relax. Sorry I made you drink so much man."

"Whatever. Screw you."

"Why? Ah don't worry, you'll be sober in the morning. Just take a few Ibuprofen and you'll be fine."

* * *

The truth is out, so now it's up to him to figure out what to do. Though, you have to wonder how drunk Envy is, if he'll remember or forget. Let me know your thoughts and I'll be sure to respond if you have questions or concerns.


	4. Crashing Down

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series.

* * *

Chapter 4 (Crashing)

Sloth unlocked the office door and slowly stepped inside, always careful about opening it. The door was in poor condition and they were waiting on someone to fix it, considering opening it up too quickly could rip it off the hinges.

Once inside, she pushed the keys into her purse and took sighed as she moved to the desk. Pride was always here about half an hour to an hour after her arrival. It was more a matter of her preference to waking up early and getting out of the house. The house she lived at was so drab and dreary that it was hard not to be depressed. "Another day in the office earning a nonexistent salary." What use did a homunculus have with salaries? They each got a paycheck once a month from Dante for an equal sum. Sure, she and Pride made more money because they _needed_ to look affluent, but that aside, there was no real money coming in to them.

The state is required to give the Fuhrer a paycheck, as well as his secretary, but their paychecks were sent directly to Dante who then divided their wealth up among the homunculi. It wasn't fair to them, but at the same time, Dante never appeared to care.

The purse strap around her shoulder started to slip, so she pulled it back up with a heavy sigh. The sunlight lit up the room beautifully, giving her a feeling of relaxation, much needed after the prior night. She'd had difficulty sleeping and thought to turn on every light in the house if it helped her to not feel so upset, but when that did nothing for her, she spent the rest of the night close to tears, frustrated with trying to sleep on all the hectic thoughts spinning around in her head.

Today held a strange feeling for her, like it would be different from most days. If that held to be true, then she looked forward to seeing what the day would bring, so long as it didn't involve the Elric brothers, Colonel Mustang, or Dante's heretics. Boring as the prior day had been, it was also the most peaceful day she had in a long time, and she was thankful for it.

Once at her desk, she removed her purse and picked up a novel she was reading a few days before. Usually she had opportunities like this to read a good book, but unfortunately due to people like Dante, it took forever to finish one. This novel was a romance detailing the lives of two people forming a bond in the heat of war. She sank back into her chair and opened the book to her bookmark, grinning as her eyes glossed over the crisp pages.

The time seemed to remain still as she read the pages, unaware of her surroundings. An hour passed by, then two hours, and she blissfully remained uninterrupted. Once she finished the book, three hours had passed. Pride still wasn't there. She set the book down and looked towards the door as concern swept over her like an ugly beast.

_"Where is he?"_ Tempted to call Elena and ask if he was still asleep, she reached for the phone on her desk. It was then that the door opened and Pride strode in with a disheveled appearance. She stood with haste and hurried over to help remove his jacket. "Brad, what happened? You're really late."

"Yeah, strangest thing." Pride rubbed his head and moved to his own desk. "I woke up in Envy's apartment with a headache worse than a damn hangover. Which is ironic considering I didn't even get drunk last night." He took his seat and immediately grabbed for his pen.

"And Envy? Was he there?" What had he been doing at Envy's place? She  
he held her breath as she walked towards him. "What were you doing there?"

"Dropping him off. Last thing I remember, really. I got him drunk last night off of some real potent vodka." Her jaw dropped and her eyebrows shot up. She wasn't sure whether to be concerned or amazed, especially considering she never thought a homunculus could get to the point of being drunk. Still this didn't answer her internal question of what the hell he was doing talking to Envy.

"You never seek Envy out unless you need something from him. What could you possibly need?" He rubbed the back of his head, wincing as his fingers grazed over a central spot. She rushed behind him and pulled his hand away to reveal a small, bright red bump. "Something hit you!"

"Figured as much. I don't know what. I uh, I did something stupid last night, Juliet." She hesitated as a sickening motion twisted in her gut like a hot knife. Remembering their conversation from yesterday, it didn't take much for her to put the pieces together on what Pride had done.

"Y-You didn't…Bradley I wasn't being serious about going to Envy!"

"I know." She hunched over his desk, planting her palms firmly on the surface and glaring at him. He turned his gaze up to hers, but said nothing more. Anger and fear pulsed through her veins like liquid fire.

"What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about you, to be honest. I was trying to find the truth, because that's what you wanted. The truth." She bowed her head and began to tremble. Sure she wanted to know the truth of Dante's plans, but not like this! Since he'd gone to Envy, that meant Dante might know he was having doubts! "I came to get you, and right now, I'm filling out my resignation."

"Your-what?" She raised an eyebrow and peered at the paper on his desk. It was formatted as a standard resignation notice, which further scared the hell out of her. If he stepped down as Fuhrer, then Dante was going to be livid! "No! Don't do that!" She put her hand to his and leaned forward. "Please, if you resign from office and Dante gets wind of it…she'll kill you."

"After last night I'm certain she'll kill me anyway. Or at the very least, do something to show that she's in control." He pulled his hand from hers and signed the paper. She took a slow step back, shaking her head. She felt her knees begin to buckle, heaviness descended upon her chest and bile started to rise up her throat. She couldn't bear to watch him essentially sign his own life away. "She's not going to control us, Juliet."'

"Bradley, I know what I said might have upset you yesterday, but the last thing I want is for you-"

"She's not going to help us!" He dropped his pen onto the desk and Sloth froze with a slight whimper falling from her lips. Pride's face hardened and his eyes narrowed. "Envy told me Dante will kill _all _of us the moment she gets what she wants. None of us will become human. He said it was possible, but that Dante won't do it. So we're just pawns, _puppets_ in her little scheme. That's it. Once we've served our purpose, we're done."

"No…" The breath in her lungs flew from her. Her hands moved to her stomach and she took one more step back. She was fearful now for her life, though this was only confirmation of what she suspected, it wasn't any easier on her. "I-I don't want that…I don't want to die…"

"That's exactly why I'm doing this. We're going to take control, Juliet." He rose up and put his hands to her shoulders, gazing into her eyes. He comforted her, but only a little. "We're going to find a way to live our lives just the way we want to, in control of our _own _life. Dante can't control us, she can only use scare tactics-"

"Or she can kill us."

"There is that. I'm going to step down from Fuhrer, let General Grumman take over. Then, you and I are going to head to my mansion, grab Elena and Selim, and leave this place. We're going to find a way to become human, I'm sure there's a chance someone or something out there can do it. However, all we really need to worry about is getting the hell away from Dante and the others."

"I don't know. This all just seems so…" She put her hand to her forehead and walked towards her desk, groaning as the fear inside her only grew. "Can we really escape them? Can we really get away? Is it possible."

"We can certainly try."

"What about the others? Lust…"

"Do you really think she can be trusted? Even though she's got her own doubts, she's still as attached to Dante's grand plan as the rest. Right now, it's probably best we _don't_ put her in a tough spot by trying to convince her to go on the run with us."

She tore herself from him and fell into her chair, groaning still as he stepped beside his desk and picked up the phone. She clenched her eyes shut, struggling to hold back the tears welling up in her eyelids. "Who are you calling?"

"General Grumman…and the Colonel."

"_Mustang?_ Why?!"

"Because we are about to be hunted by Dante the very minute we step out of those doors. We have to act fast and use whatever we can, and the Colonel can provide us a way to escape. Or at the very least…security for Grumman. Dante's not going to take lightly the fact that she won't be able to use me any more to create wars for her."

"Great. Just great…" It was difficult enough trying to stomach all of this, and it didn't help she couldn't think of what they could do to escape. Where would they go that Dante and the others might not find them? "Please tell me you're not going to tell them about our being homunculi…" She didn't want to be hunted by the military either.

"Trust me Juliet, I thought this over. I know what I'm doing…"

"What you're asking me to do…"

"You're the one that said I do nothing. Well I'm doing something. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." A voice came over the other end of the phone and he immediately started talking. Sloth smiled weakly at him and closed her eyes, searching for a way to trust that he would in fact know what he was doing.

General Grumman was in the office within minutes with Colonel Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. The three appeared in great confusion, unable to comprehend the reason he asked them here. They stood before him in a straight line, with Grumman in the center, Roy on the right and Riza on the left. "I have recently made some very powerful enemies," Pride began, signaling the trio to stop saluting him. "I'm sure you're all very well aware of the term _homunculi."_ Roy's eyes widened and Sloth tensed. She looked up at him with great unrest.

"We know of them," Grumman remarked, "I'm afraid Roy may know more about them through the Elric's reports."

"They have threatened my life, my family, so I am to go into hiding."

"Can we not just send additional security?" Pride chuckled as Roy put his hand to the elder man's shoulder.

"It doesn't work like that," Roy replied in an anxious tone, "Homunculi are very powerful creatures. They'll tear through any security we could put up." Roy folded his arms and narrowed his eyes on Pride. "If you go into hiding, then what does this mean?"

"Simple." Pride pulled his resignation letter from the desk and handed it to Grumman. The man's intense gaze fell onto the paper and his lips parted in a gasp. "I am stepping down as Fuhrer, along with my secretary as well. I am making haste as I have to get my family before the homunculi figure out that I am on the run. I've named in my letter who I wish to take my place. So…" Grumman slowly looked up, his hands trembling as a serious expression fell over his face. Pride saluted him and started to smile. "Congratulations Fuhrer Grumman, please take care of this country well…be aware of a woman named Dante, she leads these homunculi. She may attempt to strike you…"

The three officers nodded tearfully as Pride grabbed his jacket from his chair. Sloth stood up and studied the three carefully. They were bewildered and clearly in shock.

"My last contact with you will be when I find my family. After that, I will be gone."

"Y-Yes sir."

"Goodbye."

In almost half an hour they arrived at his mansion, no words had been exchanged. As they started for the front door, they were surprised to see the door left ajar. Terrified that the others beat them there, they ran inside to find a grisly sight.

Sloth's hands flew to her mouth and Pride fell to his knees, frozen with grief. Blood had been splashed throughout the front room, and both Elena and Selim were lying face down on the living room floor. "N-No!" He cried out in terror as Envy stepped into the room from the kitchen. Sloth spotted him in the corner of her eyes and quickly grabbed his shoulder.

"B-Pride, Envy's here." Pride shot up and clenched his fists as Envy began chuckling.

"What did you do to them, Envy."

"Isn't it obvious?" Envy knelt beside Elena's body and dipped his hand into her wound, grinning as the blood covered his fingers. Sloth looked away in disgust. She knew this act had to have been done by more than just Envy. Hell there were slash wounds on the back of Selim, indicating Lust was a part of this.

Her heart sank into despair as she realized the obvious, Lust wasn't near where she and Pride were at now. "Why?" She looked to Envy and narrowed her eyes. "You and Lust did this." Envy roared with laughter. "Stop that! Why did you kill them!"

"Control." Envy stepped over the bodies and began moving towards Pride. "You thought I was really that drunk last night that I wouldn't remember what we were talking about, Pride? I informed Dante you were having some 'doubts', so she decided it was best to remind you of who is in charge here. She wants you to know that what she gave you, she can just as easily take away. She's already thought up a story too…of how the Fuhrer's wife and son were killed by a would be assassin. Perhaps…Mustang and his men? We could have Central looking out for them, they'd be less of a thorn in our side-"

"Shut up!" Pride growled out and stepped in front of Sloth. He grabbed the hilt on his blade, poised for attack. Seeing enough blood for one day, Sloth quickly grabbed his shoulder, only to have him brush her hand away. "It's over Envy. That was the final straw."

"What are you going on about?"

"Give it time, you'll figure it out." He released his grip on the sword and smirked knowingly. "_Sure_ Envy, go ahead, I'll be sure to inform Central's MP about the assassin that killed my wife and son." He turned away and stepped beside Sloth. "Let's go," he whispered to her, "We run now, no turning back. Best we let Grumman know the homunculi struck my family."

She turned her back to Envy, feeling the tears in her eyes. With a determined, but fearful nod, she walked for the door. They could hear Envy cackling from behind, so sure that Dante's massacre would have instilled the fear to keep them in check.

Unfortunately for them, it had the opposite effect. This massacre was just a reminder for them, something to push them towards their escape. They were never looking back.

* * *

The deaths do serve a purpose, I never let someone die without due reason. The purpose is the fuel for Pride and Sloth to make that step, to leave, to know that there's no chance of Dante or the others of letting them free. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter, do let me know your thoughts.


	5. On the Run

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series.

* * *

Chapter 5 (On the Run)

Once in the car, Sloth saw Pride glance in the rearview mirror at his house one last time, then drive on. She put her hand on his forearm, frowning as she looked up to him. "I'm sorry…"

"It should hurt, and it does, I just…can't believe this is what it took. We're going to stop at a motel somewhere and contact Colonel Mustang's office. Tell him the homunculi attacked my family and we're officially on the run from them."

"How are we supposed to live our lives now? I mean, they're going to come after us. Dante, Envy, Lust, Wrath, Gluttony. Where can we hide?"

"I don't know." It was obvious they would have to abandon their car somewhere, since the homunculi would be looking for them now. He wasn't sure how top priority Dante was going to make this matter. If there was any clue, he'd never seen anyone screw her over as bad as they were. "We're going to dump our car somewhere, find a motel, and call Central. After that, I suspect we may want to board a train out of here."

"If that's wise at all. A packed train station?" Certainly the homunculi would be expecting them to take a train. They didn't have anywhere else to go, though. She folded her hands in her lap and took a deep breath. "I guess since we don't have anybody else we can trust…is this really happening?"

"It's really happening." Other than Lust, they were the only homunculi that could drive. Envy didn't drive due to his preference for walking and running everywhere. "We need to get out of Central, and we may as well keep the car for that. The others will expect us to leave, but I'd give us a window of about a few hours before it's announced that I've stepped down."

"I'm guessing you didn't actually put any planning into this? Winging it?"

"I'm planning as I go. We need to find a safe place to stop, then plan. As far as I know, it'll be a bad idea to try and get back to either of our homes. Obviously mine is out of the question. You have anything at your apartment you need to grab?"

"No…" She couldn't think of anything, anyway. If she thought of something, she would let him know. "What could we take with us anyway? You just said we're abandoning the car somewhere."

"Yeah, we have to keep our tracks light." He started to bring the car to a stop, causing her to flare up with concern.

"Why are you stopping?" He shifted the gear into park and scanned the area outside the car.

"There's a motel three blocks from here. We'll leave the car here and use the phone there. After that, there is a smaller train station that is much less frequented that is just around the corner from that motel. We can take that out of central."

"Where do we stop? As far away from Central as possible?"

"Maybe. I'm thinking more like the third or fourth stop before the farthest off. Somewhere Dante wouldn't expect to look." She didn't know much about the country other than Central, and a few nearby cities.

The duo left the vehicle and carefully made their way around the corner. Certain they weren't being watched or followed, they walked in a hurried pace towards the motel. "Now my thinking, Juliet, is we may have to leave the country. Dante has been in this particular region for four hundred years, but never in areas around here. I know every country that borders Amestris. Fortunately, we can decide where to go so we're not followed."

"To think, I was just starting to get used to this place." Why did he have to go and get himself in trouble? Was she at fault for bringing it up in the first place? What of her friends? What of the places she'd been to? "I cannot believe we have to give it all up."

"I would rather us be safe than in harm's way."

"I know, I know, just let me complain…I'll stop after a while." She looked over her shoulder, praying they weren't being watched. "It'd have to be a place that doesn't know us."

"Juliet. We are no longer Fuhrer King Bradley and Juliet Douglas. We're no longer Pride and Sloth. From here on, we have to create our own life. As far as recognition goes, the best country would be the one that is the most separated from us. Xing, but that's also the hardest to get to." He curled his finger under his chin and narrowed his eyes. Sloth bowed her head.

"Why is it the hardest?"

"There are miles of desert from here and there. That's why we'd be the least recognized, because messengers and travelers don't make the trip. It's also the hardest to reach because a lot of the major cities, Lior included, are in that direction."

"So the best country is literally the hardest trip to make? What's the easiest place?"

"Easiest is where I'm pretty sure I'd be shot on sight. Aerugo." She frowned as he went on to explain why that was the case. As far as she was concerned, she just wanted to go somewhere safe. "Aerugo used to be peaceful and with diplomatic relations. Dante had me doing things that were otherwise bad for foreign relations. Hell, during the Isbhal war, they're the ones that ware supplying the Isbalians with supplies. The next best path would be to go to the country of Creta. However, the border city with them is always at war, so relations with them are tense. They also closely monitor our actions, kind of like an older brother."

"So Creta and Aerugo have the easier paths but the nations that would recognize you in a heartbeat? Essentially you're saying?"

"Yes. The other one is north of us, Drachma." He raised an eyebrow and glanced up to the _Janux Inn. _"Now that I think about it. Creta would be better to run to than Drachma, we're almost always at war with them. More so than a simple city. Still, the best place to run to is Xing. We'd find our best chance for freedom there."

They entered the Inn, where the man at the desk immediately recognized Pride. He straightened himself and saluted his Fuhrer, only to be waved off by the man himself. "No need to salute, sir. I only wish to use your phone and find the quietest route to the nearby station."

"A list of train departure times too, please," Sloth interrupted. Pride chuckled at his mistake, having forgotten to mention the fact that they would have to know the times. The man immediately grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and handed it to him.

"Here you go Fuhrer Bradley, sir!" Pride smiled politely and walked to the nearby coffee table. Sloth grabbed the phone and dialed the number for Colonel Mustang's office while he looked up the times. After the phone rang a few times, Roy answered in a rushed tone.

"Colonel Mustang speaking, who may I ask is calling?"

"Juliet Douglas." Roy sighed in relief. Sloth looked to Pride and frowned as the man studied the train times. "Colonel, we got to the mansion. The homunculus, Envy, was waiting for us. He's the shapeshifter…He and…Lust killed Elena and Selim." She didn't want to sell out her best friend, but she really had no choice in the matter. "I can't tell you where we're at or where we're going, I'm not really sure. All I know is we're trying as hard as we can to not be found by Dante. We can't trust anyone, Colonel."

"I understand that, Ma'am. When do you want us to announce Grumman's appointment to Fuhrer? The military has already been to the mansion, we're keeping quiet from civilians for now, but it won't be secret much longer."

"We need time to get out of Central. Announce Fuhrer Bradley's resignation tomorrow and Fuhrer Grumman tomorrow as well. I'm sure the military can handle things from there."

"Yes ma'am. Can I ask why the homunculi have targeted you two?"

She started to answer truthfully, but withheld the answer. For the best, they shouldn't reveal their association with the homunculi. If they did, then the military would be hunting them as well. "No, it's best not. Just, probably because they want control…and we're not giving them that luxury." Pride felt bad for his past sins, he told her that once long ago. It wasn't easy when you were forced to do things, thinking they were the only way to make things right.

After the conversation, she hung up and turned to Pride. He wasn't reading the times any longer. Rather, he appeared in great distress, perhaps mourning over the loss of his family. "Pretend or not, you still cared about those two, didn't you?"

"Of course." He smacked the paper onto the end table beside the chair he was in. He cupped his hand over his mouth and closed his eyes. "They didn't deserve it. Dead. All because of me. It doesn't help that wars were started in my name, and now I know it was all because Dante wanted to help _herself_ to a philosopher's stone. Nothing else mattered. We were fools. Now that we're running, I can't help but to wonder if-maybe-there's any chance of redemption or salvation."

"I don't know. They're stronger than we are." At least they were stronger than she was. He was in no shape to fight them, however, and together they would all destroy them. Then there were certain things that would just be foolish, such as going after Dante. Sloth made her way behind him and put a hand to his shoulder. He looked up to her, a tender sorrow glistened in his eye. "I told Mustang and Grumman to wait a day before they announce anything. I don't know if that'll give us any window of time, however."

"Maybe, maybe not." Pride rubbed his hands down his face and bent forward, sighing heavily. "The others might go in and figure out what's going on, but they may not. If not, then yes it gives us some amount of time to run. Youswell is the closest to the Eastern border, after that it's all desert. We could make a break for Xing, but god knows how long that could take or if we'd even manage to survive."

"True." If ever there was a time to benefit from being a homunculus, it was now. She grinned at him and folded her arms over her chest. "You know I've got the properties of water. So with that being said, a desert wouldn't be a bad thing. Also, who's to say there aren't a few villages around that area along the way? If Xing is our best shot at getting away from Dante…so be it. We'll go. How far is Youswell?"

"It is a day long trip…"

"Then we may as well get started. Waiting around here at the Inn isn't going to do us any good."

"Right." He rubbed his forehead with his fingers and glanced to the innkeeper at the front desk. The man was cleaning the counter with a rag and humming a chipper tune. "Hey sir?" The innkeeper turned his head up, eager to hear whatever Pride had to say. "Change of plans. We're going to be staying at the hotel down the street, then be heading to the main train station to board a train to the West. We'll probably stop in West City, all right?"

"All right sir."

"Thank you. Now if anyone asks, that's where we're headed."

"Got it!"

"Great. Come on Juliet, let's get out of here." Sloth followed him out the door and watched him from behind with growing curiosity. Why the sudden change of plans?

"So we're not heading for-"

"We are. I just don't like telling people where we're going. What if one of our 'companions' show up and force him into talking? If they think we're headed west, it'll give us more time to get the hell out of here."

"Oh, yes I suppose that makes sense."

"We're better off for it too. The less people know, the less likely we can be found. I'm not so worried about being recognized as I am about Dante finding us."

"At the same time, recognition isn't going to help any."

"The train makes a stop at every city for about thirty minutes. If we have to, we'll stop at a hat shop or something. Would that make you feel better?"

"Yes. Not to mention, that sword you're carrying around would be better off a little more obscure." Though she had no idea how that would work out. Attached to the hip was typically the best place to put it. There wasn't any way to disguise it, and she wasn't about to ask him to sell it. They would need it in case one of the homunculi found them! "I'm not sure what to do about the sword, we're going to need that protection, I'm sure of it."

"So be it." Sloth was already thinking up disguises for the two of them. She didn't want to admit out loud, but she thought he would look great with a full beard, or at the very least, some stubble. She wouldn't complain if he thought to grow his hair out some, but the combed back look was fine. "We'll find a shop somewhere, and I'll figure out how to hide the sword."

* * *

Your thoughts?


	6. Cloaked

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series.

* * *

Chapter 6 (Cloaked)

The two were able to relax on the train, sitting in one of the back passenger cars where nobody was located. They were able to get one of the private booths with a sheet covering them to prevent anyone from seeing them. Their seats were facing each other. Pride had his elbow hanging over the edge of his booth and was studying the passing scenery with intensity.

She was almost afraid to bother him, to pull him from this relaxed state, but they had been riding for hours with little to say. They were nowhere near Youswell yet, and were waiting to stop at a town somewhere in between to find a shop. A little small talk never hurt anything. "You know. I wonder if there are more like us out there." Pride kept his gaze out the window and lifted his shoulders.

"What makes you think of that?"

"Well alchemy's been around for centuries, so has human transmutation. Do you really think only five to seven people in the world have attempted human transmutation?" Sure, they needed to be supplied with red stones to take shape, or so that was what she believed. "Maybe there are other homunculi out there. Ones who have taken shape without those red stones."

He moved his elbow from the bench and leaned forward, hanging his arms now off his legs. "If that is the case, then wouldn't Dante have found them already?"

"She's only ever been in Amestris." She shut the book in her lap and leaned against the wall, throwing her legs up onto the bench. "If there were any others, maybe we could figure out if they have a normal life, or if any have ever become human."

"I'm not even sure how we'd locate any if that were the case. In all honesty, I don't care. Other than you, and myself, if I see another homunculus, I will freak out. I don't want to see another one of us, because I can't even be sure if they're going to be like us."

"Well, if they don't have Dante controlling them…"

"Tell you what. If we run into one, we'll strike up a conversation. I don't think it's likely since most of us took our shape with Dante directly involved. You have a point though, maybe there are others out there…living, breathing, walking….leading normal semi-human lives. We'll figure out how they're managing to do it, but to tell the truth, I don't think we're going to find _any_ here in Amestris. This is kind of Dante's domain. Hence why we're about to go through miles of desert in order to reach _Xing_."

"Yeah. I know."

Their next stop was a small merchant town named Braxton, it was about three stops away from Youswell. There were clothing merchants, stores supplying wigs, and some other important necessities for disguises. It wouldn't take much for her to disguise herself, considering she wasn't that easily recognized. Her main concern was finding an outfit that made the former Fuhrer of Amestris _unrecognizable_.

Their first stop was the wig shop, where the merchant behind the counter was more than willing to offer a discount. Pride was leaning against the counter, staring at the wigs with a semi-bored expression. "I like my hair just fine the way it is, Juliet. I don't need a wig. I swear I don't."

"I'll get my hair cut short if you get a wig." As if it was a fair trade. Pride embodied his name, everything about him from his head to his feet was something he was proud of. It wasn't narcissism, he wasn't vain as he took pride in his appearance.

"These things itch, I'm sure of it."

The merchant spoke over them in a grab at their attention, "I promise you my wigs do not itch." The man took a deep breath and grabbed the nearest wig from his shelf. "Why my good man, I've made these myself. They feel like real, authentic hair!" Pride started to turn green as he glared at the wig in the man's hand. It was a brown, shaggy style.

"Real, authentic hair? Tell me this isn't made from _actual _hair…"

"No-no, it's a secret how I make them feel so real, so silky." The man wagged his finger in the air, smirking with confidence. "I never reveal my secrets." Pride grabbed the wig away from him and lifted it up, moaning as he studied it.

"Why does that not make me feel any better?"

"Oh relax." Sloth rolled her eyes and grabbed the wig from him, stopping to feel it. The hair was remarkably smooth, as if touching real silk. She was astonished! She looked to the proud merchant, then to Pride with a chuckle. "He's not kidding when he says it's like silk, Brad."

"That's what scares me…" Sloth placed the wig carefully on his head, making sure to straighten it to look evenly set on his head. The bangs covered his forehead. The wavy hair also moved down past his ears and stopped midway down the back of his neck. She stepped back, rubbing her chin and grinning as Pride glanced up at the bangs just above his eyes. "Damn, I may as well grow out my own hair if this attracts you. It feel so weird…at least it's only temporary."

"It's not bad." She titled her head and flashed a triumphant grin. "I like it!" As Pride felt of the wig, Sloth reached into her purse and pulled some cash out. "How much for the wig, sir?"

"That'll be ten," The merchant held his hand out and Sloth paid the money. She wanted to be careful not to overspend, since what money they did have was finite.

Their next stop was a tailor shop where both of them had to find a new set of clothes. After several grueling minutes of finding the perfect outfit, Pride was finished. He now sported a green blazer with a black muscle shirt underneath. He wore long denim jeans, brown boots, and a brown cowboy hat. They also found him a set of black sunglasses. Pride was already sporting a small amount of stubble from having not shaved earlier in the morning when he left Envy's place.

When they stepped out of the shop, Sloth started to ogle him, smirking as she instructed him to turn around. "I have to say, you're looking rugged there, Bradley." He raised an eyebrow and faced her, crossing his arms.

"So long as no one recognizes me, I'm fine." He didn't quite need his eye patch any longer, since he had shades to cover up his homunculus eye, but he was going to keep the patch in case it ever was needed. Pride folded his arms and smirked at Sloth, wagging his eyebrows at her. She looked up to him with suspicion.

"Why are you looking at me like that."

"Because now that _my_ stuff is done, we're going to get you a haircut." She gasped and reached up for her hair, clutching it in her hands.

"Oh no, I wasn't serious."

"Yes you were." He stepped behind her and began pushing her towards the barber. Sloth let out a nervous laugh and hurried towards the shop. She did promise, and it was best to be in disguise.

"I could just wear a cloak, you know. I don't _have_ to get my hair cut."

She didn't get her hair cut too short, but it now came down just barely to grace her shoulders. She also had a purple sweater with a hood and hand pockets on the waist. Underneath the sweater was a blue tank top that went with the knee length jeans. Like Pride, she had a pair of shades, though with rose tinted lenses. Certainly they wouldn't be recognized at this point.

They waited at a diner next to the station for the train to start up again, unfortunately there were forty minutes remaining. The diner was quiet, each table filled with people waiting for the train.

In the center of their table was a basket of honey glazed rolls and homemade cornbread. They each had a glass of water. Pride had a sirloin steak, loaded baked potato and cinnamon apples. Sloth had two slices of ginger glazed pork chops with peas and a baked potato without sour cream or chives. Unlike Pride, she couldn't stand sour cream. They were planning on ordering a slice of peach pie afterwards.

"I don't see how you can eat that stuff," Sloth gestured to the sour cream on Pride's potato. He forked the potato and teased her with a subtle smirk as he raised the bite to his lips. As the bite entered his mouth, she curdled with disgust. "Jesus it's like sour milk or something…"

"A potato isn't complete without sour cream, butter, chives, bacon, etc. Just be glad I don't put beans on it."

"Beans? On a baked potato?" She gagged at the image of chili or beans plopped on a ripe potato. Pride laughed at her and forked another bite. "Who eats that stuff?"

"You'd be surprised. Elena would put chili on hers occasionally." He tapped his fork gently on the plate, and let out a heavy sigh. "It's hard to believe she and Selim are gone now." Horrified by the vision of their bodies, she set her silverware down and reached over to him. She was hurting too, but there was no use in dwelling on what they couldn't change.

"Brad…They're the reason we're escaping now. It hurts me too, remembering what we saw. Envy…I never thought he-" Her head jerked back and she closed her eyes. "No, I knew he would be capable of something like that. I just never thought he'd do that to them."

"All Elena and Selim were to Dante was fuel. A way to control me. They were _nothing_ to them. Pretend or not, love or not, they were still the closest I had to a family." He lifted his eyes up to hers, she could see the trauma in his eyes. "I didn't love Elena like a husband loves his wife, sure, but she still meant something to me. Selim was like a son to me too. I didn't realize until I saw them laying there that I was capable of such human emotions. I've always felt many things, but never put much thought to them."

"We're going to get past this. We will. I know how difficult it is to deal with this, but we're in it together at least."

"Yeah." Pride looked back to the diner and his eyes enlarged. "Quick Juliet, put your hood up." Sloth raised an eyebrow and did so immediately, she didn't see an expression of fear or concern on his stoic face. She looked over her shoulder and gasped as the Elric brothers walked in the diner.

"What are they doing here?"

"I don't know, maybe they were on the train?" They were so close to the door that she hoped the duo wouldn't see them.

Ed looked over to the two of them and began moving over. Sloth felt a sharp jab of pain strike her nerves as she pulled away. Ed lifted his hand and Al's footsteps could be heard as he made his way over. "Hi there," Ed began, "How's the food here? My brother and I are waiting on the train."

"Food's great," Pride answered with a surprisingly cool tone. She was amazed and grateful that he was the one doing the talking. "The train's not for another thirty to forty minutes." Pride jabbed his steak and held it up with his fork, smiling kindly. "Try the sirloin. It's amazing." Ed pat his belly and grinned at his brother.

"Probably won't beat Risembool, but whatever works."

"Yes. Excuse me-" Pride took the bite, then wiped his mouth with his napkin. "What are you doing here in town?"

"Oh we were on our way to Chax," Al replied, "It's just the next stop over. We're working an investigation." Sloth didn't recognize the name of the town. Leaving this in Pride's capable hands, and comfortable in the fact that the boys didn't seem to recognize them, she returned her focus to her food. "Are you two waiting on a train as well?"

"Yes we are. Same train, I presume."

"Great! Are we heading in the same direction?"

"Probably not, it's just us two. We're travelers. We were in Central recently. Is it true what they say? Amestris has a new Fuhrer?" Sloth looked up and Ed gave Pride a mournful frown.

"Yes. Anyway, I'm Edward Elric-"

"The 'Fullmetal Alchemist', right?"

"Right. Anyway Colonel Mustang said the Fuhrer went missing and his family was murdered."

"He say who was behind the attack?"

"Yeah it was just a group of assassins." Ed clenched is fist, his eyes narrowed with determination. "We're going to catch the ones responsible." Pride nodded as he forked another bite.

"Amestris will likely be changing now that they have a new Fuhrer, right dear?" Sloth jerked up as Pride's eyes flickered to her. He wagged his eyebrows once and she smiled back, trying to conceal her current anxiety.

"Right. I hope they find the ones responsible." She looked up to the two brothers and waved into the air. "I hope you two enjoy your meal. It was good small talk." Prayerfully, they wouldn't run into the brothers again, lest their disguises fail next time. The brothers nodded and walked towards a table on the other end of the room. Sloth shuddered and sighed in relief as Pride chuckled. "What was _that?_ Brad, don't put me on the spot like that!"

"Sorry, I was only trying not to act suspicious. At least if those two don't recognize us, no one else will, right?"

"I hope not…"

"Time will tell. Hopefully these disguises will be enough to carry us out of this country." She nodded in return and cut another piece of her pork chop. If fortune favored them, they'd survive. As frightened as she was, she had to have faith.

* * *

I just realized, in my head Pride now appears as Burt Reynolds. Not intentional. Ed and Al appear as catalyst in this chapter to show if the disguises worked for them. I am sure they, as well as Roy and Riza will appear in this fic more than they have so far. What do you think of this chapter? They probably won't make it out of Amestris so easily, but who knows. They will run into Hoenheim in that desert, so be aware.


	7. The Chimera

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series.

* * *

Chapter 7 (The Chimera)

Once they made it to Youswell, the station was packed. They exited with an unsettling feeling rising up inside. Sloth had to take a look around to make sure they hadn't been followed. She looked towards Pride, he had a long brown trench coat that was decided to cover up the fact that they could find nothing to do with his sword. "We might need that sword soon, I have a bad feeling about being here…"

"We should be fine, just relax. Once we're out and into the desert, we'll make a run for it." The truth of the matter was Youswell was close to the town the Elric brother's had been staying on. If something was going on in that town, nearby cities could be afflicted. It was her hope there wasn't much going on. "Why? Does this place seem different to you or something?"

"Other than the fact that the station is overcrowded and Youswell isn't that big of a town? No, nothing else is bothering me." As they walked in town, a resident ran past them, screaming about monsters. Sloth felt a panic rise in her chest as Pride watched the fleeing inhabitant. "They're trying to flee, Brad. They're running from something. Should we help?" He raised an eyebrow at her and opened his lips to speak, but nothing came out. "I mean we could…couldn't we?"

"You have _got_ to be kidding. We don't even know what's going on, much less the severity of the thing scaring these people." A sudden roar jolted them. Sloth looked up into the distance and pointed in the direction of the noise.

"Sounds like one of those chimera things." Pride tensed his body and ran his fingers along his forehead. Sloth knew he just wanted to get out as soon as possible. She couldn't stand not trying to do something, they were on the path to salvation, to becoming even remotely close to humanlike. "Brad, we need to help these people."

The roar sounded off again, only louder and deeper than before. Pride lowered his hand to his side and looked towards her with half a smile. "I hate it when you're right…" As another villager started to run past them, he reached out and grabbed the man's arm. "What's the town so scared of, sir? Do you know?" The man screamed and pulled away from him.

"That way-there's a giant creature! It-It's eating everyone. Run away!"

"Great. Thanks for-" The man ran off and Pride rolled his eyes. "All right let's get moving. Sloth, stay out of danger and strike when you can." He already figured he'd be fighting this battle solely. She was at the point where she hated the use of her powers, her only intention on using her ability was trekking through the desert.

Once they rounded a corner, they saw a ten foot creature that resembled a part lion, part snake, and fused with whatever creature it was that made him so humungous. Sloth's jaw fell and Pride looked back at her with a chuckle. "See what you get me into sometimes, Juliet?" The chimera roared and slapped Pride with his tail, a shock considering he should have seen it coming. Pride crashed into a nearby wall and groaned as the rubble fell over him. "Okay…" He stood up in the dust and began patting himself off, coughing. "Now the chimera dies."

He withdrew his sword, smirking as it flashed in the sunlight. "Why didn't you see that coming, Brad?" She asked with a concerned tone. Pride shrugged his shoulders as he started to square off with the chimera, twirling his sword.

"Wasn't paying attention." He extended his arms and let out a proud shout at the creature's attention. "Come on! You hungry? I got something for you right here." The creature howled in its rage and charged for him, its fangs glistening. Pride locked his hands around the hilt of his blade and rushed to the right some, extending his blade out to the left. The demon bit down on the blade and flinched as Pride snapped it through the creature's cheek and out from his jaw. As he leapt back, the chimera howled furiously.

"What do you think brought him here?"

"Not sure I want to know. It couldn't be a random chimera, could it? I say we let the Elric brothers deal with this…" The chimera lowered his bloody fangs in front of Pride and roared, flinging saliva and blood onto him. He flinched and slowly looked to the mighty beast. "But I will go ahead and kill this one, since it's starting to piss me off."

"I could help, not sure what I can do. Slashing it with water is pretty much the best I got-unfortunately." When it came to hitting the giant beast with water, she was not confident in her ability to damage it. "I could try and drown it."

"I'd rather you not take the chance."

"Oh come on. What's the worst it can do to me? Eat me? I'd floss his teeth…"

"Either way."

"So what, you're just going to be macho guy all of a sudden?"

"Basically." He smirked and she shook her head. Pride then charged the chimera, swinging his blade inwards and striking the chimera along the side. The creature howled with pain and swung his tail. Pride dodged the tail and swung his blade through the tip of it, causing the beast to shriek as blood splattered out. "I'd really love to cut his head off, but I don't think I'm going to get the chance. At the very least…stabbing it works."

"The people in this town could do well to fight their own battles sometimes instead of running off." She crossed her arms and looked up to the snarling creature. "Then again, I can see why they might be too terrified to do that."

"You think?" Pride hopped onto the creature's back, straddling its neck with his legs. Sloth watched with a growing feeling of fear as the chimera began swiping at Pride with its tail and claws. She saw him flinch as the claws cut into his arm and blood gushed out. For a minute, she forgot that he could heal his wound. "Damn thing won't hold still." The creature rolled onto its side and began snapping at Pride, who was struggling to hang onto him.

"What are you trying to do, Brad? Get off it!"

"I'd like to stab its head. Not as simple as I thought it'd be."

"Ugh." She had to swallow down that resistance to fighting that she'd put up, but in this case, she felt it was needed. Thinking fast, she extended her arm, turning it into water and forming a bubble around the chimera's head. The beast opened its mouth and glared into her eyes, preparing to charge. Pride hurried back on top of the chimera's back. "Hurry up, Brad!"

"I'm trying!" Pride swung his blade up and slammed it into the side of the chimera's head, slicing through his brain and exiting out the other side. The chimera's eyes widened, then dimmed. Pride leapt off and Sloth released her hold on it. "Damn, that was _not_ what I was expecting to do in this town. Not to mention, we're drawing attention to ourselves, Jules. We don't want to do that."

"Well sometimes it may be necessary, especially if we can help stop an entire town from being eaten or destroyed."

"I suppose. I'm only saying, the less attention we draw, the less likely the others find us. We need to be careful, if we're going to help, then it's a last resort."

"So, emergencies only type thing?"

"Yes." He sheathed the blade and promptly tucked it beneath his trench coat. "Can't believe I have to wear this damn thing."

"At least until we're in that desert, right?"

"Sure."

"Anyway, are you okay?" She walked up to him and inspected the claw marks on his arm and the blood rushing down him. It terrified her to see the wound. "It looks serious."

"It is literally healing, Juliet." Sloth watched as the wound sealed over, leaving only traces of blood on him. Still concerned, she put her fingers to his arm and cleaned off the blood with her water. He watched her hand move down his arm and frowned as she stared intently at her hand. "You know you don't have to do that…"

"I may as well accept I have the ability and if it's good for anything, it's cleaning wounds or fluids." Pride reached over to her hand, returning it to normal when he touched her. Her heart tensed as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "If it is possible to become human, great, I'm not sure how we'd find a way to do that. Until then, these powers we have…they can't be all bad."

"Not all bad, no. Having them also doesn't make you bad." She glanced up into his eyes and curled her fingers around his palm. "You have heart. There's no way someone without something so beautiful as that would ever decide to stop and help some town the way you wanted to. That's why we're going to survive, we're going to make it."

"Because we have a heart? Something like that?"

"Well. That and determination, maybe even a will to live." He moved her hand away and gazed down at three light pink marks on his arm. "Ah yeah, it's left a scar."

"Has that happened before?"

"Once or twice. Scars usually go away after a while. Depending on the severity." He turned to the chimera. "I do wonder what brought that thing-"

"No!" Someone cried out from nearby and Sloth quickly looked over to see a man in distress staring at the chimera. His hands were covering his face and he was on his knees. "My pet! My precious pet!"

"Oh you have _got_ to be kidding me." Pride walked over to the man and folded his arms over his chest. "This was your doing? _Pet_, you called it?"

"My precious creation!" The man ran to the fallen beast and glared at Pride and Sloth. "You _killed_ it! How dare you!"

"It was destroying the town. What did you expect would happen?"

"It was just being playful! How is it my fault people were fearful?" Pride's expression grew dull and lackluster. He turned his back to the man and waved him off. As he walked, Sloth followed him.

"We're just going to ignore him?"

"He's deranged and not a threat, we'll let the townspeople deal with the man." He pointed to the villagers running towards and past them. Sloth looked back as they surrounded the man, all ready to tear him apart. "I don't think he'll be making another one anytime soon."

"I don't think I will ever understand why people make those things."

"Most times it's just to use it as a creature of war. Other than that, I am not sure. I know I've never heard of a chimera being considered a pet, and that one certainly wasn't."

"I still don't-"

"Think about it. It's the same thing with us in regards for Dante. She then controls her homunculi and does whatever it takes to keep them from being able to think for themselves. All we were to her were purposes of war, to do her bidding, and once she's through with us, we're kaput. That is the life of a chimera as well."

"But we're not like the chimera…"

"No. No we're not." She studied him from behind, pondering his words for the moment. They had been tools of war, they may have been like the chimera. How they were not like one, she knew they weren't, but she wasn't entirely sure why. "A chimera doesn't have the capability of thought. It doesn't have the capacity to understand right from wrong. In essence, it has no soul either. It is dead inside, a mindless and hollow shell. In that sense, we are nothing like that beast. Even I cannot accept such a thought."

* * *

I debated whether or not their confrontation would be with one of the homunculi, but I figured that would have been too soon, especially since the homunculi probably figure they went off to the West. Overall, I feel good about this chapter, I hope you do as well.


	8. At the Border

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series. So a recent issue has occurred, but I have fortunately found 8 in some odd folder on my computer. I'll be exporting my other chapters to regain them and push forward. Heart and Soul has been salvaged, by some miracle. Though I may have to rewrite some things that I had yet to put up, oh well.

* * *

Chapter 8 (At the Border)

The couple sat in a small breakfast diner near the town closest to the border of the desert and Amestris. Sloth poked aimlessly at the buttermilk pancakes on the plate before her, tugging her lips back into a slight frown as she thought back on all they were leaving behind. "Look at this Juliet." She looked up to Pride at the other end of the table. His right foot was laying atop his left knee and his eyes were scanning a newspaper. "Fuhrer Grumman is reaching out to the citizens of Liore and Isbhal, trying to come to peace arrangements."

"Really?" She sat up and turned her gaze towards his coffee cup that sat beside his plate of eggs and bacon. She normally found breakfast very appealing and appetizing, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to eat. Focusing her mind elsewhere was the best thing. "So he's really shaping things up?"

"The entire country is in mourning apparently." Pride's eyes flickered above the paper and his moustache bristled out with the smirking curl of his lips. "The deaths of Fuhrer Bradley's wife, son, and the Fuhrer himself going missing has really turned the state of things around for the country. Dante and the others must be really pissed."

"Does it say anything about Kimblee, Archer, or even Scar?"

"No to any of the three. Though I thought I saw someone's name in these pages…" He began flipping through the paper, humming along with the classy tune echoing throughout the diner. He finally stopped on a page and reached for his coffee. "Obituaries. Kimblee, apparently…Fuhrer Grumman ordered his execution Monday morning for war crimes committed." She was shocked into silence. No matter how young she was compared to the other homunculi, or how out of the loop she felt, even she knew how important that man had been to Dante's cause. Pride let out a dry chuckle and folded the newspaper. "A big setback for Dante. Another one, that is…how likely do you think she's pissed right now?"

"Very. Enough to want to kill us for deserting?" His eyes drifted to her food. He furrowed his brow and gently set the newspaper beside his plate.

"Is something wrong with the food?" She looked back to it and shrugged.

"No, I guess I'm just not hungry." There was a lot on her mind, fears and concerns that she'd kept to herself for the most part, but keeping things bottled up was not something she could keep doing. "How could Lust do what she did, Brad?" He raised an eyebrow as she looked up from her pancakes. Her eyebrows folded over and lines formed at the corners of her mouth. "I still can't understand why…when I know she was like us. Or, I thought she wanted the same thing we did. Why would she kill Elena and Selim? Was everything she said-did she mean none of it?"

"I doubt it." Pride picked up a piece of bacon, moving it towards his mouth. Sloth watched it break between his teeth, then turned her gaze towards the radio on the counter at the other side of the room. "You're forgetting a very crucial thing."

"What?"

"She doesn't want to die. None of us do. If she doesn't do what's ordered of her, Dante will kill her. Chances are very good that she did it because she was ordered." Thinking of it in that light made some sense out of everything, but she still didn't like it.

"How are we going to defend ourselves if they find us? I mean there's only so much we can fight against."

"Let's worry about one thing at a time…" He reached over, gently patting his hand over hers. A shiver ran up her arm, and her lips turned up as her eyes turned to his confident gaze. "They should be on track for the west. We'll be halfway to Xing before they even think to look over here." He paused for a moment and leaned back in the chair. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"No, of course not. I'm just-well if we're being honest, I'm scared. I don't know how you can be so confident when there's no telling what'll happen." She pat her hands together and motioned to the shades covering his eyes. "Even your eye can't see that future." His lips thinned and his shoulders rose slowly.

"I'm scared too. But I'm determined to get you and myself away from this hell, and that determination is what's getting me through this mess. That, and having you with me helps a lot as well." He started to pull his hand away, but instinctively as if on reflex, she grabbed his hand back and held onto it. "Yes?"

She had no idea what she was doing, or why she was holding his hand. The only thing she felt from it was comfort and warmth, which at this point was what she felt she needed. "I think I'd be dead by now if you weren't here, Brad. I mean yeah I can take care of myself and all, but you're the one that's been coming up with the plans." He smiled at her and chuckled softly.

"Ah, I'm sure you'd be just fine without me dragging you everywhere. Besides, I'm the one that got us in this mess in the first place, right?"

"Only because I said something." She rolled her eyes and curled her lip into a smirk. "And you, in your _infinite_ wisdom decided to do what I suggested-even though I didn't mean it." He pulled his hand back and picked up his silverware.

"Your sarcasm is duly noted, Juliet. What is done is done, we can't change it now. No matter how much we may want to." He pointed to her pancakes. "At least try and eat? We have a long day, I don't want you to starve…"

"I suppose not." They'd be getting some food supplies that would last them the trip to Xing, then they'd have to locate something to get them there. Whether it was a carriage, a car, simple horses or god forbid, a camel. "Do we have money for everything we need?"

"Yes. I still have most of all the money I received as Fuhrer, and I know you still have money right?"

"Yes. We're going to want to save it up though. We won't be able to get jobs until we reach Xing."

"Right." Sloth cut through a portion of her pancakes and lifted them to her lips. She wasn't feeling as apprehensive now as she had earlier, but she was still scared of the journey. All she wanted was to be safe, and with him at her side.

"Brad?"

"Yes?"

"Have you been having any memories associated with the person's soul that's in you?" She knew that wasn't worded in the best way, but she couldn't think of a good way to say her thoughts. She wanted to talk about the memories of Tricia and hoped he would understand her situation.

"We all have those memories. You heard what Lust said, a part of their soul is trapped to what would be our own souls. If we want to become human we'd have to release that soul, and the only way to do that is the philosopher's stone…"

"Then the way to make that?"

"Sacrificing a bunch of human lives." She already knew that answer, but was hoping not to hear it. Now her fear was that they would never be free from those memories, or thinking about someone else's life. "I know you don't want to do that anymore, and I'm actually getting to that point where it just seems pointless. Pointless slaughtering of innocent lives…You've rubbed off on me more than you think." She smiled and gladly returned to her food.

"Well good, because I wouldn't want to be traveling with a close minded maniac that could kill me at any second."

"I wouldn't do that to you. Envy might, but I wouldn't."

"Point being, I'm glad you're with me." He looked back to her with a warm, compassionate glance. She took a deep breath and reached for the orange juice beside her, hoping to focus now on that rather than him. She took a sip of the drink, then studied it with arched brows. "You know, I've not usually thought about it, but I'm made of water-so why do I need to drink anything?" Pride chuckled as she took another sip, enjoying the flavor and taste. "Then again, water is _so_ boring."

"If you say so."

After breakfast, they went to determine what they could afford to use in order to cross over the desert to Xing. They did purchase a couple water containers that Sloth could repeatedly fill up as much as they needed. What they were stuck on was the horse versus carriage ratio, and even still, would a car be beneficial?

There were no car shops in the town they were in, but one merchant was trying to sell a car. They were examining it closely to figure out if it could carry them across miles of sand or not. "I'm made of water, not gas," Sloth muttered, "There's probably no fuel tanks out in the middle of the desert." She looked over the car to Pride, who was kicking at the rear tire.

"Yeah, and I'm not too sure the tires on this thing will carry us through sand. One day, someone's going to invent better vehicles, I'm sure of it." She laughed as Pride began walking away, his mind already made up. She followed after, apologizing to the merchant for their sudden exit.

"Brad, you could have told the merchant we weren't interested."

"He saw me walking away, he knew I wasn't." She rolled her eyes and smirked at the man. "So we have horse drawn carriage, or simple horses."

They passed a nearby merchant with a carriage, who was standing beside a stable outside of a farmhouse. The stable had three horses to choose from. Seeing their interest, the seller called out to them. "Are you two travelers? I can interest you in a couple horses, no?" Pride glanced over to the man while Sloth made her way to the stable.

"We're definitely interested in getting something that will carry us to Xing."

"Xing?" The merchant's furry eyebrows curled upwards and he scratched at his stubbly beard while studying the animals. "You may not wish the carriage for that, then, the horses will tire pulling it." He guided Pride to the stable. Sloth was eyeing a strong muscular horse with brown fur and a dazzling black mane. She was petting down his muzzle. "Looks like your lady has found one of the ones I would recommend." She hesitated and glanced back at the two men with a slightly reddening face. "That one right there, and the one to its right I highly recommend. Can I ask you why you're going all the way out to Xing?"

"Just trying to get away I guess," Sloth admitted. Pride nodded his head and began to study the second horse. "Things are changing in Amestris-"

"Hopefully for the better! You should stick it out, see how the new Fuhrer handles things."

"We might visit again." She returned to the horse and ran her fingers through the creature's coarse hair. "If these two are the ones that can get us to Xing, we'll buy them."

"All right, I appreciate your business!"

* * *

So it looks like they're ready to step into the desert. Don't forget Hoenheim's showing up pretty soon. Desert or not, it'll be some time before they get to Xing. Let me know what you thought on this chapter.


	9. Scorching Desert

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series.

* * *

Chapter 9 (Scorching Desert)

Stepping out into the desert, Sloth adjusted the packs and gear hanging from the saddle of her horse. Her purse, as well as canteen, was hanging from her right shoulder. They had a pack each of clothes to tie to the saddle, and with the clothes were food and some drinks. Sloth wouldn't have to use her own water until they ran out of whatever they had.

To her right, Pride checked the compass and peered back at the city behind them. "All or nothing," Pride muttered. Sloth took a deep breath and studied the flat desert that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Wind was blowing up sand in all directions, creating a near impenetrable haze. "According to this compass, we just need to keep walking Northeast. As long as we're moving east we will hit Xing one way or another, but we want to make sure we're going the same direction at all times. It's easy to get thrown around out here."

"Landmarks would be good to map out." The sun was blistering, and already she could feel the sweat dripping down her neck. This trip was going to take at least a couple days. For that, they did have some protection. Both were wearing cloaks as Lust had done so whenever she went out into Liore. "The others wouldn't try this trek, would they?"

"Envy won't step foot outside Amestris, so no. Something terrifies him about it. Gluttony would have nothing to do out here and lacks the intelligence to get across the sand. Wrath is-" Pride lifted his eyes to the sky, humming under his breath. "Still a kid, no way in hell he'd survive out here. That leaves Lust, and I don't think she's going to come after us, to be perfectly honest. Dante herself probably figures we wouldn't think we'd have the guts to try this."

"We hope she wouldn't, right?"

"Dante can't stand the desert. She wouldn't step foot out here herself. If she had to, she'd send one of the others, and as said…none of the others would come out here. Except for Lust, possibly. She's the only one I can think of that actually can stand the desert. You should be able to take it just fine as well since you're mostly water."

"Then why am I sweating?"

"Because you are part human, you're going to sweat like everyone else. Come on Juliet, you know these things."

"Yeah I-don't know where my head's at lately." Simple answers were made more complex since stress had her brain going every which way. She didn't know how he was able to keep his calm, but surely he was breaking down too inside. "We're running from our friends, those we think are our friends are going to kill us if they see us-how the hell are you so calm?"

"I'm not, and I'm not going to be until we get the hell out of here."

"Fair enough." She pulled her canteen up to her lips and took a quick sip. The cool liquid drenched her tongue and throat, quenching what little thirst was coming up. She capped her canteen and looked over as Pride's horse started moving. She tapped her heel into the side of her horse and followed after him. "So are we just going to walk them or run them?"

"I don't want to make the horses run too much right now. We need to stop occasionally and feed them the oats the merchant gave us, then give them some water to drink. Keep them cool and energized."

"Tiring them out now wouldn't be good, yeah I can see that." She didn't want the horses to collapse or die before they were even halfway across this eyesore of a desert. "We don't want to end up having to walk the entire way."

"Exactly."

Several hours went by and Sloth stopped looking behind her to check for the city, since it was long gone now. Sand was being swept up all around, and Pride was constantly checking his compass. The horses were slowing down quite a bit at this point. "I think we should stop here," Sloth moved her hand along her horse's neck, trying to cool it off by turning her fingers to water. Pride looked up from the compass and pulled back on his horse's reigns, signaling it to stop.

"Yeah, let's give them some more water." He hopped off and Sloth did the same. She walked in front of her horse and cupped her hands together, bringing them up beneath the animal's snout. Water began to pool in her hands, constantly churning out from her body. The majestic creature seemed to hesitate before slowly lapping at the water. Its long tongue tickled her hand and caused her to almost want to pull away, but she thought better of it for the animal's sake.

Pride leaned his elbow against his horse and watched her curiously, "Why don't you just transform your hand or something?" If she did that, there would be a constant amount of water without need to keep replenishing a puddle sure, but that could potentially freak the animal out.

"I don't want to scare the thing, Brad."

"I understand that." He pat his horse on the shoulder, pulled a small shovel from the back of the saddle that the merchant gave them, then walked off a couple paces. Sloth watched him, impatiently waiting for her horse's thirst to be quenched so she could help the second.

"What are you doing?"

"Speeding things up a bit. Don't know why the merchant gave us this thing, it's not much help, but it's worth a try." He began to dig in a spot that sand wasn't blowing over. After several minutes, he'd dug a wide and slightly deep hole. His body was covered in a mixture of sweat and sand, his hair was coated in a layer of dust. She lost her focus on her horse for a moment of gazing, then regained herself as Pride walked over to her. "I don't know if it's big enough, but I've made it deep enough. If you could fill it up with water, maybe the horses will be able to drink and you won't have to constantly act like a fountain."

"Good idea." She moved to the hole and transformed her arm. She stretched it down and began to fill the hole, watching as some of the outer sand tried to absorb it in. "Brad? Don't you think maybe we should have put something down so the water wouldn't be absorbed in?" He glanced over and narrowed his eyes as the sand began to fall into the hole.

"Shit. Let me start over." He muttered his irritation and opened his pack. He pulled out a thin sheet that he was going to sleep on. Watching him dig another hole in the sand, only to drape that sheet over it was depressing. She didn't want him to end up having to sleep on nothing.

"You need some protection for the nights…"

"I will be fine. Just fill it up again."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…" With a sigh, she filled up the hole, letting Pride guide the two horses over for a drink. Part of the sheet began to bubble and rise up to the surface, but there was still enough room for the horses to reach down and drink.

She brushed some sand off her pants and looked to the canteen hanging at his hip. "How are you on water?"

"Halfway down, I'll be fine for another hour probably." He sat down beside the horse and Sloth moved beside him. "How about you? How are you holding up?"

"Fine. Still feel odd though."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Since they left it felt like they'd been followed, but she didn't think it was from one of the homunculi. As Pride said, they wouldn't come out here. "I can't shake the feeling that we're not alone, it's weird but it's felt that way ever since stopped off in Youswell, actually…Didn't want to say anything because if you weren't saying something, that meant you didn't see it. Right?"

"Honestly? I haven't even been using my eye…" He frowned and looked towards the water. Her heart started to fall as she remembered the fight with the chimera, and how he didn't even see some of the attacks come. He had the option to use his ultimate eye, and all this time he hadn't been?

"Brad? Why not?"

"Because it's not worth it to me. You can use your ability for good, to give people and animals something to drink or to revitalize and replenish something. Me? There's nothing good about this…"

"But-Brad you can see things with that eye that no one else can! You're a tactician, a strategist, and hell if someone _was_ following us all you have to do is use it and see who or what's nearby. You don't even need the compass to tell where Xing is." He looked over to her and lifted his shoulders. "It's not a bad thing. You told me that back with the chimera, that it isn't a bad thing. It's something we have to accept, because we may _never_ be human-we may never be without these problems of ours."

"Well I still have no use for this eye." He pushed himself up, scoffing under his breath. She rolled her eyes and looked off into the distance. For a second, she thought she saw a figure behind the haze of sand. Her heart began to pound and she reached out, grabbing at Pride's pant leg. "What?"

"That eye can see through a haze of sand. There is someone out there-and you're the only one that can see whether we're going to want to run or not…who is following us?"

"Juliet-" He looked to where she was looking and frowned as the figure was moving closer. "Shit." Anxiety swept through her like a tidal wave. She pushed herself up and began to make her way towards her own horse, staring down the approaching figure.

"Is it one of the others? Did they find us?"

"Let me see…" He removed his shades and groaned as his eye turned over to reveal his mark. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "No it's-I don't know who it is…"

"I'm not a threat," a man called out. "Yet." Sloth's heart stopped and she watched as a tall broad shouldered man stepped out of the haze alongside his own horse. He was wearing glasses, had a long light brown ponytail and a scruffy brown beard. "But I know who you two are. Homunculi…Dante's creations…and you want to be human?" Sloth moved her hand to her chest and tried to swallow a lump forming in her throat. Was their cover blown? How could this be? Were they in danger?

"Who are you?" Pride put his shades back on and stepped forward, reaching for the hilt of his sword. "What do you want and why have you been following us?"

"Relax, I'm not going to do anything to you." The man looked towards the water hole the horses were drinking from. He shook his head and pointed at the rising sheet. "That is not going to work, though."

"It's the best we got."

"Here." The man clapped his hands together, then placed them on the ground. Sloth gasped as an alchemic light burst from the ground. The sand began to sink down and harden, creating a giant hole. The water from Pride's hole was lifted out, stretched and dropped down to fill the hole created by this man. Pride's face fell and he began to mutter.

"Great way to kill what was left of my pride…"

* * *

Show off. So I'm sure you know who the new guy is, let me know your thoughts of this chapter


	10. Hoenheim

Heart and Soul

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N: Mainly based on first series.

* * *

Chapter 10 (Hoenheim)

The man rose up, clearing his throat as he looked over towards Pride. "Your pride? Right. You're the homunculus Pride, and you-" The second the man's eyes met Sloth's, she felt a sudden pang of fear and sorrow. The man's features tensed and he quickly looked away. "Are the result of my sons' transmutation."

"Son?" Pride looked to Juliet, then back to the man with realization growing on his face. "Shit, you're the Elric's father? Hoenheim?" The man's jaw tightened and he slowly nodded his head. "You're also the one Dante-hell no!" Pride stepped in front of Sloth and scathed at the man. "You're not going to touch her. I won't let you."

Hoenheim lifted his hands and closed his eyes. "Relax, I'm not here to fight." He watched the horses move to the giant hole and continue to drink. His head turned back to Sloth, then to Pride. "I saw you two in Youswell, fighting that chimera. I have to say, I was surprised enough to hear that the Fuhrer stepped down and his secretary disappeared. Seeing you two in action, with what you were doing, I realized you were that woman's handiwork…I've been seeing the homunculi's influence in Amestris for years, and now all of a sudden there haven't been any events caused by them…it's almost like they're gone, looking for you two."

"We had to get away from them," Sloth brushed past Pride, confident in her own safety. "Dante's just going to kill us anyway. We wanted to be human, and Dante told us she'd make us human, but it turns out she doesn't give a shit."

"Why? What would being human do for you? You'd eventually grow old and die, you'd lose your powers-"

"We'd be our _own__person_." She stepped forward, pushing down all memories of this man surging through her. Hoenheim straightened himself up and peered at her while breathing deeply from his flaring nostrils. "We wouldn't have to be controlled, we wouldn't have to live fighting off these memories of someone that we aren't. A little part of Tricia is left in me, and I want my own life-I…" She looked back to Pride, sighing heavily. "I want my own life and my own family. I'm jealous. And some nights I have these dreams…"

"What dreams?"

"Nightmares, I guess." She looked back at Hoenheim and winced as she felt a clawing sensation inside of her. She visualized Tricia, alone, screaming out in pain and anger. "Sometimes I can see her just sitting there…sobbing. Wanting out, and the only way to do that is by 'releasing' her I think, and we can't do that without either dying or being human."

"How do you plan on being human without Dante's help? Or the stone?"

"I don't know. There's got to be a way, right?" The man paused for a long minute, staring at the two of them with uncertainty and sorrow. He slowly shook his head and walked over to his horse.

"Unfortunately there is not." She was immediately discouraged. Pride frowned and looked over at her with concern. They weren't going to give up on at least trying to live their lives, but knowing now there wasn't a way for them to be human without the stone shook them horribly. "You do need the stone."

"We don't want to kill thousands of people to do it," Pride remarked curtly. "We just want to live our lives."

"Maybe…I'd need to see some humanity in you, but I can help."

"How?"

"Think about it. Dante is out of stones because she kept body swapping and didn't have what remained of the philosopher's stone. When I left her behind, I took what was left…" He reached into a small bag and pulled out two bright red gems. Sloth's eyes widened and Pride stammered as Hoenheim turned to them. "I still have these because I figured if I got rid of them, someone would find them and use them for the wrong reasons. They're a reminder of my own sins…I can use them, to do what you're saying. Release the souls trapped in you and make you more human as you would like, to give you your own lives and let you go to Xing."

Pride hesitatingly reached out, but Hoenheim yanked the stones away and chucked them bag into his bag. Sloth let out a small whimper, realizing there was something more. "We don't want to be used," She replied, "We honestly don't. We just want to be free." The man studied them again. Every time silence surrounded them, she'd grow more anxious. "Don't you want Tricia to rest in peace?"

"I do, and if I wanted to, I could kill you both. I'm sure you realize that." She started to tense as Pride let out a low growl. "But I'm not going to do that. I just want to see some things in you two. I won't make you do anything that I wouldn't do myself, but in order for me to help you, I need to see some evidence that you're willing to work for this 'freedom'."

"Please…"

The man crossed his arms and slanted his eyelids. "Now listen, you know as long as you're alive and as long as Dante is alive, she's not going to stop looking for you. You can go to Xing, you can travel everywhere, but you'll _never_ be free." Her heat constricted and she began to feel lightheaded as she imagined Dante chasing after them now on all parts of the globe. "She's going to keep sacrificing lives to make her own stones, to live eternally-and just because you two ran off-it doesn't mean she's going to stop. She'll find another way, but mark my words, she will still hunt you down and try to kill you."

Pride scratched his chin and lowered his arms loosely at his sides. "Then what do you propose? We just keep running for the rest of our lives? All I care about is that Juliet is…safe…" She looked over to Pride, startled by the statement. He inhaled and moved his hand to his forehead. "Well. That's just about it. If we have to run forever, then-"

"If you want to be free, you need to kill her. Dante." The blunt statement rattled them. His words rang through Sloth's brain and tempted her fear to rush from her lips How the hell were they supposed to kill _Dante?_ Hoenheim peered into their nervous eyes and unfolded his arms. "Don't worry, I will help you two. But you need to put those monsters down. Redeem yourselves too, right Pride?" His eyes flew over and Pride huffed. "Redemption will buy your salvation, maybe. Or maybe the alchemic law of equivalent exchange? You were a part of Dante's sacrificing thousands of lives, so if you kill her-and those homunculi that are following her around-then you essentially free every soul she's trapped or destroyed."

"How do you expect us to take out any of the homunculi? Envy, Gluttony…they'd kill us!"

"Not if you have an advantage." Hoenheim pat the bag on his horse and started to smirk. "What do you think I've been doing away all these years? I've been spying on Dante and those homunculi, and I have found some of their remains. What that means is, you can freeze them in their tracks-tear them down to their last life and kill them."

"I'm not sure," Sloth marveled at the thought of killing Dante and the others, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it would just be a slaughter. If they didn't die first, how could they honestly kill those that used to be their friends? "I-I don't want to kill Lust…She's not bad, I can feel it. She's not like Envy and the others."

"Didn't she help kill Elena and Selim?"

"That doesn't mean anything! She could have been forced, controlled! God knows with Envy around her all the time what he's doing!"

"Well. Cross that bridge when you get there, but for the most part-if you want me to help you live the rest of your lives in peace-this is what I will expect of you to do."

"Why do you even want to help?" Suspicion dripped from Pride's scornful tone. Hoenheim climbed onto his horse and huffed.

"Call it an experiment, call it whatever you like. It seems to me like you genuinely want to separate yourself from Dante and the others-and if you're so willing to travel through this hellish desert to do that, then you must mean it. So maybe I can see whatever bit of humanity you're trying to grasp at, and maybe I feel for you. I have no reason to help you, and I could easily let Dante find you and tear you apart." Pride growled lowly while Sloth watched him to make sure he didn't try to lunge at the man. "All I'm trying to tell you is I have no strings attached, unlike Dante. If you really want to become human, show me you're willing to work for it."

Pride turned away, looking towards Sloth, "Is it worth it?" He seemed uncertain, but of course, she knew he would typically be quick to turn something like this away. His own pride and anger over having been used by Dante for so long would be the driving force behind his making that decision. "I won't say yes if you don't want to, and I won't say no unless you don't want to…because you know where I stand on the issue. I'm done being used."

"You think he'd be using us?"

His mustache bristled out and his facial features tensed. A crease formed on his forehead as his voice deepened. "That man has been wanting Dante dead for four hundred years. I don't know if he'd be using us or not."

"Still here," Hoenheim remarked.

Sloth looked over to the man with uncertainty and confusion. How could they be sure he wouldn't just throw them away once Dante and the others were gone? She walked over to him slowly, setting her hand on the horse's back and looking up into Hoenheim's eyes. "How…How can we be sure you won't just shove us to the side once we're done?"

"I guess you'd just have to trust me. I'm not Dante, I'm not here to lead anyone along. I'm dying myself, and I would confront her to bring her down, but I'll probably still need some help. I'm not what I used to be. The thing is, I'm not asking you to do anything for me. I'm just asking you to show me that you have any semblance of humanity in you before I decide to use these stones on you. I don't want to waste them…"

She couldn't detect any mistruth in his eyes, and he wasn't sending off any bad vibes. He didn't have the same fearsome demeanor that Dante had. Still, she didn't know that they could trust him, but right now they didn't have much choice. "What can it hurt?" She whispered softly and looked over to Pride. Her lips thinned as he stared back with protective concern. "Brad…we don't really have other options." Pride crossed his arms and bowed his head. His chest heaved and a grunt radiated from his throat..

"Fine. We'll do this." He stomped over to Hoenheim and lifted a finger to the man. "But if you cheat us-and I mean turning your back after Juliet here is putting her faith in this-then I _will_ tear you apart."

"Brad-"

"No, I'm serious. You're putting your trust in this guy, and Dante or not, I'm not going to let him string us along. Especially for some four hundred year old lover's spat with his ex wife!"

"Do you want me to prove my loyalty?" Hoenheim asked. Pride turned around to study the man. After glaring a few seconds, his nostrils fired outward and he ran his fingers through his hair, defeating himself.

"We'll follow you. But mark my words, I will be watching. All I want, all we want, is to be out of the way. To be free to live our lives how we want to live. We're trying to get _away_ from puppeteers."

"And I'm offering you that, as well as offering you your salvation, your redemption. I don't do that for people, and I don't have to do it for you, but I will because that's how I am. Honest."

"Honest? Weren't you the one that deserted your sons?"

Hoenheim rolled his eyes and put a firm hand to his coat sleeve. He pulled the sleeve back to reveal bright red decay. Sloth put her hand to her chest and stared at the decaying skin with shock. Pride simply glanced and instantly looked away. "See this? I didn't want them to have to see their father going through this. Dante is also going through this decay. Why? Because our bodies aren't our own, why else is Dante swapping her body over and over? The decay is getting worse for her, faster to the point that she'd have to start swapping bodies every other day eventually. I've had this same body for several years and now I'm decaying. So like I said, I'm dying, Dante's got one foot in the grave-if my last act is giving you two humanity-I would prefer not to waste it. So it looks like we'll be watching each other, now won't we?"

"You need to see your sons," Sloth admitted. Pride chuckled while Hoenheim gave her a dull look. She reached out and touched the decay. Her stomach curdled with disgust as the flesh moved in and stuck to dried blood. "If you're dying, you need to see them…"

"You have got to be-"

"I'm not joking. They need to see their father."

Hoenheim pulled his arm back and shook the sleeve back into position. Pride looked back to him and lifted his eyebrows, "She does that to me all the time. I don't know what it is, but I'm starting to get into the habit of doing this 'right thing', lately. Which, as you can tell, has gotten us into trouble." She rolled her eyes and Hoenheim laughed.

"Yes, women are known for that. I will see my sons if you will help eliminate Dante. With her and the homunculi out of the way, that means Amestris will no longer suffer any direct threat."

"We'll do it. But we can't take them all on at once." Pride tapped his foot impatiently on the ground and looked off at the sand blowing in the wind. "Fortunately I do know where they stay when they're not with Dante or the others. We all have our own small apartments, so it wouldn't be impossible to take them out one by one…but you'd better be there with us!"

"I will be. You have my word on that, and you have my word that if you do this I will help you to have normal lives. There are some things we'll have to do first, however. Fortunately for you, your disguises work enough to hide your identity to Amestris citizens…people aren't actually looking for Fuhrer Bradley though."

"They aren't?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the newly promoted Brigadier General-Roy Mustang-has reported the discovery of both the Fuhrer and his secretary. They're covering for you…which also means they don't know you're homunculi, I suppose. Either way, it's helpful."

"Great." Sloth looked back in the direction of the city and started to moan. She didn't know how close they were to Xing, or how far from Amestris they traveled in this desert. It seemed just as she was beginning to feel safe and secure, that security was diminishing and would further evaporate the closer they went to returning to Amestris. If this was the only way they could be human, or at the very least, to be free, then they had no other choice.

"We're with you for now," she climbed onto her horse and let out an exhausted sigh. "Back to Amestris."

* * *

The rough part is this is the point the story starts to get really good. I feel like I should rewrite those first few chapters, what do you think? Anyway, what are your thoughts on this chapter? Pride makes a good point, why do they want to get involved in some four hundred year old marital dispute?


End file.
